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The Amateur's Booh of 
THE DAHLIA 




Decorative Dahlia, 

EMILY D. RENWICK 

Raised by Mrs. Stout 



An unusual colour quality, and 
popular as a cut flower, for table 
decoration, etc., as well as for 
the garden 



The Amateur's Book of 

THE DAHLIA 

'MRS. CHARLES H. STOUT 



INTRODUCTION BY 
MRS. FRANCIS KING 




"^sacb^s^Mi^jjg: 



ILLUSTRATIONS FROM 
PHOTOGRAPHS AND DRAWINGS 



GARDEN CITY, N. Y, , AND TORONTO 

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 
1922 



^\3 



'b^ 



>3S^ 



COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY 
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION 
INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN 

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES 

AT 

THE (COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y. 

First Edition 



g)C!.A654957 



-v% 



I 



TO 
MY DEAR HUSBAND 

WHOSE CONSTANT SYMPATHY AND ENCOURAGEMENT 
HAS HELPED TO MAKE THIS BOOK POSSIBLE 



AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

■*af 

Grateful thanks are due to Mr. W. A. Orton 
of the United States Department of Agriculture, 
and Dr. Marshall A. Howe of the New York 
Botanical Gardens, whose help has made the 
writing of this book a pleasure. 

To Dr. D. F. Jones of the Connecticut Experi- 
ment Station at New Haven, Connecticut ; Mr. 
Richard Lohrmann and Mr. J. J. Broomall, of 
California; Mr. C. L. Mastick, of Oregon; Mr. 
W. W. Wilmore, of Colorado; Mr. J. M. Rob- 
erts, and Mr. Alt F. Clark, of New Jersey, are 
due my thanks for valuable points on breeding 
and combating diseases of dahlias. 

Last, and by no means least, I thank the pub- 
lishers for their patience and kindly interest in 
launching me upon my maiden voyage on the 
great sea of garden literature. 



vii 



FOREWORD 

For you, dear friend, amateur of the dahlia, 
this book is written. 

You are rich, beyond millions, with God's 
treasures; yet you know it not. Your wealth 
is stored away, and this key is made to fit the 
lock of your treasure house. Your questions, 
asked, often with shy apologies, needed no apolo- 
gies ; they taught me how to fashion the key, and 
I am grateful. 

So open wide, dear friend. Take these, God's 
gifts, for the asking. One flower cannot repre- 
sent the race; one variety is not the whole 
species. Have abundance — and share it with 
all who come your way. 

Plant your seeds and your bulbs, and the 
great Artist will come down and work with you. 
Your hoe will become a wand, and beauty will 
spring from the dead brown earth which you 
have touched. He will break up the rainbow 
and paint the blossoms with the pieces; and you 
will feel a thrill of joy at thought of partnership 
with Him who made the world so beautiful. 

ix 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword ix 

Introduction xvii 

CHAPTER 

I. History 1 

II. Early Dahlia Culture .... 11 

III. Situation 20 

IV. Soil — Composition and Preparation 26 
V. Propagation 40 

VI. Breeding 61 

VII. Cultivating — Planting, Staking, 

Fertilizing 80 

VIII. Cultivating, Watering, Disbranch- 
ing, Disbudding — Dahlias in Tubs 97 
IX. Frosts; Lifting and Storing . . 113 

X. Pests and Remedies 124 

XI. Cutting, Packing, Shipping . . . 146 

XII. Dahlia Shows 156 

XIII. Colour Combinations in the Gar- 

den AND AS House Decorations . 179 

XIV. Varieties 195 

XV. Classification and Chart . . . 213 

Index 311 



LIST OF LINE CUTS 



PAGE 



Two varieties Acocotli, drawn by Hernan- 
des, about 1575, for his book published 
in K-ome, 1651 . . 4 and 5 

Average clump of tubers ready to be sepa- 
rated. Large tuber should be cut short 
where indicated 42 

Green cutting as taken from sprout. 
Leaves and stem to be trimmed where 
indicated 49 

The same cutting ready for rooting ... 50 

Tuber planted properly. Dotted line 
^ shows depression when first planted; to 
be levelled later 88 

Dahlia branch showing crotch bloom al- 
ready disbudded. Side branches need 
disbudding 105 



xm 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Decorative Dahlia, Emily D. Renwick 

Frontispiece 



FACING PAGE 



The gentle grace of the Peony type . . 28 

The Singles have an artistic appeal for cut- 
flower decoration 36 

Striking contrasts of colour and form char- 
acterize the Collarette 44 

Grafting a green shoot on an old tuber . 52 

The informal freedom of the Duplex has 
an individual attraction 92 

The refined gracefulness of the true Cactus 
type 124 

The dainty primness of the Miniature 
Pompon 156 



XV 



INTRODUCTION 

Partly because of a long-established belief 
in the value of the study of special flower groups, 
I am happy to see appearing this volume on the 
dahlia; on that flower which has certain qualities 
pertaining to no other, and a glory of form, 
habit, and colour all its own. I believe in special 
plant societies. Study, research, and experience 
under such auspices spread knowledge accurately 
and widely with the result that fine plant sub- 
jects reach the average amateur with a prompt- 
ness otherwise impossible. 

Notable achievement in America in the way 
of hybridizing by amateurs is rather rare. We 
find few men and women, not in commercial 
growing, who care to give their time and patience 
to such work as this. It is, therefore, all the 
more remarkable that Mrs. Stout should have 
spent already ten or twelve years in her occupa- 
tion with the dahlia. I well remember seeing 
for the first time some of her noble flowers. Sun- 
shine, Emily D. Renwick, Gertrude Dahl, and J. 
Harrison Dick, a dahlia named by the Ameri- 



XVll 



xviii INTRODUCTION 

can Dahlia Society for a man whose nobihty 
and sweetness of character were only equalled 
by his knowledge of all that is best in garden- 
ing. These dahlias were among others at an 
Annual Dahlia Show of the Short Hills Garden 
Club — that show which has won for itself every- 
where a name for keen intelligence and pic- 
turesque beauty. 

Of all late-blooming perennial flowers, where 
is there any to surpass the dahlia? Where is 
there a more majestic habit, a finer foliage in 
colour and form, or a more glorious range of colour 
in the flowers themselves? Dahlias have colours 
given by no other perennial flowers, and this 
colour is at its finest when that of most hardy 
flowers has vanished. A trial of dahlias for 
decorative effect in the garden is taking place 
this summer at the gardens of the Royal Horti- 
cultural Society at Wisley; here the plan is not 
to disbud or thin, but to allow the plants to grow 
naturally. 

The chapters of this book, based as they are on 
sound knowledge, spiced with humour, fortified 
by experience and by experiment — a totally dif- 
ferent thing — will, I am convinced, do much for 
the progress of dahlia growing and hybridizing. 
But the general impression of Mrs. Stout's 
writing is this : it is not only a cup of knowledge 



INTRODUCTION xix 

but a cup of delight — one that brims over and 
whose overflow refreshes and stimulates others 
in the pursuit of dahlias old and new, in the 
pursuit of dahlia growing with all its attendant 
and varied interests. The garden work that 
flowers in writing means a permanent benefit 
to the gardening public — and not one of our 
fine amateurs is better qualified to discourse upon 
the dahlia, its history, cultivation, and hybridiz- 
ing than the author of this book. Naturally, 
public recognition has come to Mrs. Stout in a 
very large measure. A mention of the numbers 
of silver cups, the medals, trophies, and ribbons 
which her flowers have captured during the last 
few years would sound extravagant if it were not 
true. The money from the sale of these dahlia 
roots and from her own lectures on the dahlia — 
lectures with beautiful coloured slides — has gone 
without exception to the support of French war 
orphans, to the Fund for Devastated France, 
to the Maisons Claires, and lately, some of it, to 
a hospital in Shantung. Mrs. Stout thus re- 
mains a consistent amateur of the dahlia, and 
none will deny that this record glorifies even her 
superb achievements as a hybridizer and a grower 
of her special flower. 

How well I recall my sensation on seeing for 
the first time one of the new dahlias, of the 



XX INTRODUCTION 

large-flowering type! It was in a florist's win- 
dow in the Bellevue-Stratford, in Philadelphia, 
and the dahlia was Geisha. It is years since 
that day, but the sense of stupefaction (yes, just 
that) is still fresh with me; a sense that soon 
gave way to wonder and then to joy that such a 
thing could be in flowers. Since that time we 
have almost ceased to marvel, so many glorious 
creations have come beneath the eye. But the 
miracle of hybridization is still ours to w^ork as 
shown by the writer of these pages; the path is 
only explored for a little. On that path this 
book should prove a torch to light the way — 
a gleam which it is hoped many will follow. 
Dahlia culture in America will then surpass even 
its present fine status and create for us a special 
place in the world of horticulture through this 
race of magnificent flowers. 

Louisa Yeomans King. 
Alma, Michigan, 
June, 1921. 



The Amateur's Booh of 
THE DAHLIA 



The Amateur s Book of 

THE DAHLIA 

CHAPTER I 

HISTORY 

MORE than a century before our Puritan 
ancestors brought the Httle Mayflower into 
muddy Plymouth Bay, a handful of sturdy Span- 
iards stepped upon the mainland which we now 
call Yucatan. Adventurers they were, in search 
of gold and treasures, but prepared, nevertheless, 
to meet fierce savages and hostile tribes of an 
unknown wilderness. 

To their great surprise they found that the 
natives of this promising land were intelligent 
and in an advanced state of civilization. They 
were well governed, with a remarkable code of 
laws. They dwelt in villages, and sometimes 
in large cities. They were expert metallurgists, 
agriculturists, and horticulturists. Their art 
was not crude; the craftsmanship of their gold- 
smiths exceeded anything which a Spaniard had 



2 The Amateur^ s Booh of the Dahlia 

ever done. Their houses were well built and of 
wonderful design; and, moreover, they planted 
beautiful flower gardens about them. 

The tales which these men had to tell, and the 
trophies which they carried back, brought many 
other bands of Spaniards. Finally, in 1518, 
Hernando Cortez penetrated into Mexico itself 
and soon conquered this marvellous land and 
founded the colony of New Spain. 

So impressed were the Spaniards by all they 
found that in 1570 King Philip II sent Fran- 
cisco Hernandez to study the resources of that 
country. There he undertook to write a book 
describing the plants and animals which he had 
found (*' Plants and Animals of New Spain"); 
but it was not published until 1615, long after 
his death. Only the edition published in Rome 
has the drawings which he made with such 
care. 

This book shows two specimens of dahlias 
which he called by their Aztec names, Acocotli 
and Cocoxochitl, meaning "Water-pipe" or 
" Water-cane," and " Cane-flower." Hernandez 
was neither a botanist nor an artist, and it is not 
easy to trace any similarity between his draw- 
ings and the wild Mexican dahlias of to-day. The 
first was a duplex dahlia and the second, un- 
doubtedly, a peony-flowered type. Both had 



History 3 

probably been drawn from specimens cultivated 
in the gardens of the Aztecs. He states that 
there are many more forms which also vary in 
colour through all the shades from white to yellow, 
purple and red. 

The great French botanist, Nicholas Thierry 
de Menonville, was sent to Mexico in 1787 on 
the dangerous mission of learning the secret 
which the Aztecs had of cultivating the cochineal 
insect. He reported then that he had seen the 
Acocotli growing in a garden as a cultivated 
flower. In 1789 the first seeds reached Europe. 

Vicente Cervantes, who was director of the 
Mexican Botanic Gardens, sent to that splendid 
priest and ardent botanist, the Abbe Cavanilles, 
director of the Royal Gardens in Madrid, the 
first ancestors of our gorgeous modern dahlias. 
These seeds produced single flowers of brilliant 
hue such as grow in myriads over the high 
volcanic plateaux surrounding the great "Valley 
of Mexico"; but by careful crossing and selection 
were soon giving flowers of many forms and 
colours. 

Andreas Dahl was a great Swedish botanist 
living in Berlin. He had been a pupil of the 
great Linnaeus, and in 1787 had published a 
book on the Sy^ema Vegetabalium, which com- 
manded the attention and respect of all Europe. 




Two varieties Acocotli, drawn by Hernandez — 




— about 1575, for his book, published in Rome in 1651. 



6 The Amateur s Book of the Dahlia 

In his honour did Cavanilles name this new 
plant, adding "pinnata'' to describe the pinnate 
or winged leaves. 

At that time the Marquis of Bute was British 
Ambassador to Spain, and his wife took such an 
interest in this new flower that she begged a few 
seeds and sent them home for trial there. Plants 
from these seeds did not survive, and it was 
not until 1804, when Lady Holland sent seeds 
once more from Madrid, that dahlias really be- 
came known in England. 

Cavanilles sent seeds to the various botanic 
gardens of Europe — to Berlin, Dresden, Paris, 
and Montpellier. In Germany, despite the 
honour done to Mons. Dahl, they were for a 
long time called "Georginen" after Professor 
Georgi; and even now the catalogues of that 
country list some of the varieties under that 
name. However, the name "dahlia" must al- 
ways stand as having first been given by the 
great Cavanilles; unless we wish to go even 
farther back to the native word, "Acocotli." 

After about 1810 dahlias became more and 
more popular, and growers continuously sought 
to double and improve them. Haage of Leipzig, 
Hartweg of Karlsruhe, Donckelaar of Louvain, 
and Lelieur and the Comte de Vandes of France 
succeeded in producing large full flowers of many 



History 7 

colours, so brilliant that their names were on the 
lips of everyone. 

The Botanical Magazine in 1817 pictures a 
rose-coloured "decorative" type sent to England 
by the Comte de Vandes, the first illustration 
we have of this new form. 

From that time the popularity of the dahlia 
grew apace until during the period of about 1840, 
when it became a veritable craze. Both in 
Europe and America large sums of money were 
spent to buy the stock of a promising novelty. 
The forms were always double; either of the 
"decorative" type, though vastly inferior to the 
modern California dahlias (the type in which 
they so largely specialize), or of the ball-shaped 
"show" type. Just previous to 1860 interest 
in dahlias began to wane. Every colour and 
combination of colours had been accomplished. 
There were no more fields to conquer. In 1870 
the National Dahlia Society was formed in 
Great Britain with the hope of renewing the 
flagging interest, and at that time appeared a 
tiny ball-shaped blossom, originating probably 
with Hartweg of Karlsruhe, which he called 
"pompon." It attracted wide attention for a 
time, but the stiffness of all these forms failed to 
hold the interest of the public, and soon dahlias 
lapsed almost into obscurity. 



8 The Amateur^ s Book of the Dahlia 

Some of our grandmothers still clung to the 
old round types, and many present-day gardens 
have a few of these tucked into odd corners, 
degenerates of the great show days. 

It is to these types that many people refer 
when they state that "dahlias are an acquired 
taste — like olives." They do not know! They 
have never seen our modern dahlias. 

In 1872 one M. J. T. Van der Berg of Holland 
(as his name denotes), received a box of miscella- 
neous seeds, plants, and roots from a friend in 
Mexico whose name is now unknown. They were 
nearly all dead, having been a long time crossing 
the ocean, but one dahlia tuber had just enough 
life in it to send up a promising shoot. It was 
coaxed along and late that summer produced 
a brilliant blood-red flower of a shape never 
seen before. Instead of the quilled petals with 
rounded margins of bygone days, the petals of this 
flower were rolled back and pointed; the plant 
was tall, and the stem was long and strong, carry- 
ing the little flower well away from the foliage. 

It differed so greatly that it was immediately 
given place as a botanical species, called "Cactus 
dahlia" on account of its resemblance in form 
and colour to the blossom of the Cereus Specio- 
cissimus or "Showy Cactus." This original 
cactus dahlia was named Dahlia Juarezii, in 



History 9 

honour of the then president of Mexico, and by 
crossing with the parents of the earhest hybrids 
is now the parent of the varied gorgeous blooms 
of the present time. 

No one knows where Van der Berg*s friend 
found his dahha root. No flower like it has 
ever been seen either wild or cultivated in any 
part of Mexico. It may have been a hybrid 
created by someone there or it may have been a 
freak of nature in God's own garden on 
the mountain sides. Nevertheless, it is due to 
this blossom alone that the waning interest in 
dahlias sprang into renewed life. 

Interest in America grew and waned and grew 
again as it had done in Europe. Mr. J. W. 
Harsbuger in Science (Vol. VI. No. 155, p. 909, 
1897) states that the American Dahlia Society 
was founded about 1895, and planned to stan- 
dardize classes and varieties, to keep a check list 
of names, etc., and do much to further the culture 
of that beautiful flower. 

What became of the original society is not 
known, but we may surmise that it had been 
crushed by the weight of its responsibilities. 
However, out of the ruins has risen another 
American Dahlia Society, which, though still in 
its infancy, has achieved much during the six 
short years of its existence. 



10 The Amateur^ s Book of the Dahlia 

Its check list now contains more than five 
thousand names of varieties to be found in trade 
catalogues. Its membership increases by leaps 
and bounds as the enthusiasm grows over this 
aristocrat of all flowers. Trial gardens are 
placed in various parts of the country where 
new types may be fairly tested for the benefit of 
the public. Its annual shows, and the shows 
in which it collaborates, draw unprecedented 
crowds from all parts of the country. 

The dahlia has come to stay. 



CHAPTER II 

EARLY DAHLIA CULTURE 

OUR dahlias owe much to the early struggles 
of the Abbe Cavanilles. His young man- 
hood was devoted to his Church; but his love of 
flowers and his botanical writings led to his 
appointment in 1801 as director of the Royal 
Botanical Gardens in Madrid, with which he had 
already been connected for some years. This 
position he held until 1804, when his untimely 
death carried away the lovable priest, one of the 
greatest of botanists — the man who brought the 
dahlia to the attention of the world. 

As we know, the Abbe had his first Acocotli 
blooming in Madrid in September, 1789. He 
managed to carry on the species by root propa- 
gation and the ripening of seeds. We do not 
know what colours these first flowers were. It 
may be that more seeds were sent him a year 
later, and that by applying the pollen of one 
upon the other he finally succeeded in producing 
a deep purple flower of what we now call the 

"peony" type. This blossom is pictured in his 

11 



12 The Amateur^ s Booh of the Dahlia 

book "Icones et Descriptiones Plantarium '* 
which was pubKshed in 1791 under the name 
Dahlia pinnata. 

Later Cavanilles mentioned several other 
species of the dahha, D. coccinea, D. rosea, and 
D. bidentifoHa. These may or may not have 
been variations in flowers only, and mistaken for 
botanical species. Such mistakes were con- 
stantly made during the forty years following, 
and were the causes of many disagreements 
among botanists of all nations. 

Seeds from plants producing red flowers, 
sent to some other gardens, produced plants 
bearing yellow or white ones, and resulting 
arguments like that of Salisbury, quoted here, 
followed. Roots shipped from Madrid to Ber- 
lin, which had produced strong bushy plants, 
grew plants of tall, slender habit, due to the 
cooler, moister climate; the quality of soil al- 
tered the colour, and controversies, not unlike 
that between the grower of present time and 
his customer, ensued. 

After 1803, when seeds reached various botan- 
ical gardens of Europe, reports and opinions from 
England and France differed so widely and were 
so far from the mark, that they are amusing read- 
ing nowadays. 

The best and most thorough treatise on the 



Early Dahlia Culture 13 

dahlia by a Frenchman comes from the pen of 
**Citoyen" A. Thuin in the *'Annales du 
Museum National d'Histoire" 1804 (Vol. III. 
page 420). It is accompanied by a fine coloured 
plate of the three types of dahlias described by 
Cavanilles. 

Thuin states that much gratitude is due to 
"Monsieur' 'Cavanilles and to' ' Citoyen' ' Thibault 
who brought the seeds to the museum, for the 
plants give a blaze of colour in the garden at 
a time when little else is in bloom. 

The first seeds were started in large pots of 
rich earth and placed under a bench in the green- 
house at a temperature of 12 to 15 degrees centi- 
grade. They started slowly, but with increased 
heat grew quickly, and flowered at the end of 
autumn of the same year. Of the three varieties, 
D, pourpre (D. pinnata) was the latest in flower- 
ing, but the handsomest — the colour, a deep 
pansy or plum, and the centre florets attempting 
to put out "petals." 

His deductions were clever, though as we now 
know, erroneous; but are well worth repeating:^ 

^Abridged translation of Thuin 's article: 

If one carefully examines the size and formation of dahlia roots, it will be easy to un- 
derstand that these plants need a fertile clay and sandy soil, and it should be rich in humus. 
It may be presumed that they need more heat than our chmate provides, as Mexico lies 
under the Tropic of Cancer. The following are some reasons why it would seem impossible 
for dahlias to flourish in our climate or an even colder one. 

1 — It is not usual for plants having such tall and delicate stems to grow on high moun- 
tains, exposed to weather conditions that would bruise and break them. 



14 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

Si Ton examine la consistance solide des racines des 
Dahlias, leur volume considerable et leur configuration, il 
sera facile de conjecturer que ces plantes ont besoin d'une 
terre profonde argileuse melangee de sable gras; et si Ton 
considere la quantite de fanage qu'elles ont a fournir 
pendant leur vegetation rapide et annuelle, on se persua- 
dera aisement qu'il faut que cette terre soit riche en 
humus. 

D'apres la latitude du Mexique, situe sous le Tropique 
du Cancer, lieu d'ou ces plantes ont ete apportees, il est 
a presumer qu'elles ont besoin d'un degre de chaleur plus 
considerable que celle de notre climat, et qu'il est neces- 
saire de les conserver dans la serre chaude pendant I'hiver. 
Mais si les Dahlias croissoient sur les montagnes dont le 
Mexique est traverse, et ou se trouvent meme les plus 
elevees du globe la latitude seroit un indice bien peu cer- 
tain sur la temperature qui leur est necessaire, puisque les 
regions elevees offrent successivement le meme degre de 
froid que I'on eprouve sous toutes les zones de la terre 
en descendant des poles vers I'Equateur. II s'en suivrait 
alors que les Dahlias pourroient vivre en pleine terre chez 
nous et meme sous des climats plus froids. Cependant 
nous ne le pensons pas, et voici les raisons qui determinent 
notre opinion. 

1° — Des vegetaux herbaces dont les tiges sont aussi 

2 — ^Seven or eight degrees of frost cause dahlias to txirn yellow and show their sensitive- 
ness to cold air. 

3 — In our climate their growth only begins in early summer and they need great heat 
to bring forth flowers. 

4 — We know to a certainty that the roots of these plants have been frozen in one night 
of 5 degrees of frost so it may be positively stated that the dahlia comes from the hot or 
temperate parts of Mexico, and not the cold. 

We can still hope to grow dahlias by persuading them to change their habits of growth, 
starting in the spring and ending in the autumn, for though we have less heat than in 
Mexico, our summer days are longer and nights wanner, which should give the same 
average. 



Early Dahlia Culture 15 

hautes et aussi tendres que celles des Dahlias ne se trou- 
vent pas ordinairement sur des montagnes elevees, sejour 
des vents, des neiges et des tempetes. Dans cette position, 
leurs tiges etant brisees a mesure qu'elles croitroient, ils ne 
pourroient fructiifier, ni par consequent se multiplier; ce 
qui est contraire au voeu de la nature, et a la sagesse de son 
plan. 

2° — ^Les Dahlias, exposes chez nous a Fair a une tempera- 
ture de sept ou huit degres au dessus de zero, jaunissent et 
annoncent un etat de langueur et de malaise. 

3° — Ils n'entrent en vegetation dans notre climat qu'au 
commencement de I'ete, et il faut pour les determiner a 
fleurir, une chaleur forte et longtemps soutenue. 

4° — Enfin, nous avons la preuve que des racines de ces 
plantes exposees aun froid de cinq degres ont gele complete- 
ment et sans ressource dans I'espace d'une seule nuit; ce 
qui prouve ou au moins donne de tres fortes presomptions 
pour croire que ces plantes n'habitent pas les regions 
froides du Mexique, mais les parties chaudes, ou tout au 
moins celles qui sont temperees. 

Malgre cela, nous ne devons pas desesperer de voir un 
jour ces plantes croitre en pleine terre dans notre climat. 
II ne faut, pour remplir cet objet, que les amener insensi- 
blement et par une culture adroitement dirigee a croitre au 
printemps, et a terminer leur vegetation a Tautomne, au 
lieu de pousser au commencement de I'ete, et de cesser de 
vegeter en hiver comme elles en ont I'habitude dans 
notre climat. Si la chaleur de notre zone est moins forte 
que celle du Mexique, nos jours d'ete sont beaucoup plus 
longs, les nuits moins fraiches, ce qui doit etablir, dans un 
temps donne, une masse de chaleur dans notre climat aussi 
grande et pent ^tre plus forte qu'au Mexique. 



16 The Amateur* s Book of the Dahlia 

He then gives cultural directions and sugges- 
tions for increasing stock by cuttings and ends, 
by stating that the roots will probably be con- 
sidered edible as a nourishing food. 

In England, Dr. John Sims published a 
charming coloured drawing of D, pinnata in 
"Curtis' Botanical Magazine or The Flower 
Garden Displayed," drawn in 1803 in the 
garden of "Mr. Eraser's at Sloane Square." 
Evidently the flower, grown from seed brought 
from Erance, had gone back to the single type, 
though the colour is the same as that drawn by 
Thuin. Doctor Sims states that it is a native of 
South America, and should be treated as a 
*' hardy herbaceous perennial!" 

Evidently, the English had already corrupted 
the pronunciation of dahlia, for in 1804 an 
article on the dahlia in "Andrews' Rare Plants" 
(Vol. VI) one is cautioned against confusion 
with the dalea, an edible root, named after an 
Englishman called Dale. Fortunately, we in 
America respect the "h" in the great botanist's 
name and such confusion is not likely to result. 
Andrews also makes the astounding statement 
that the dahlia is a valuable hardy plant, a 
native of Peru ! 

But the most delightful of all these treatises 
is one in the Paradiseus londinensis, accompany- 



Early Dahlia Culture 17 

ing Plate XVI by R. A. Salisbury on D, bidenti- 
folia, and should be quoted verbatim; 

The specific character and descriptions of Cavanilles 
seldom do him any credit, and respecting this Dahlia, he 
has blundered as usual; for its leaflets are neither more 
acuminated than those of the others, nor smooth on their 
lower disk, and the ligulated florets of the second variety 
are of a deep marigold colour, not scarlet . . . 

The variety with yellow flowers has only been lately in- 
troduced into this country from Madrid by the Right 
Hon^'e Lady Holland, and flowered for the first time this 
Autumn. 

Poor Cavanilles! Had he but named his 
dahlia "Variabilis" in the beginning and left it 
so, this Englishman might have given him a 
better reputation. What would either of these 
men think if they saw the dahlias of to-day ! 

Gradually our predecessors learned how to 
grow dahlias, to hybridize and improve them. 
They were doubled to form the "decorative" 
type, showing no centre florets at all; then 
again doubled until they became spheres — the 
"show" type. 

Dahlia enthusiasm soon became a veritable 
craze, and the score of points for perfection be- 
came more and more difficult. 

In "Every Lady Her Own Flower Gardener," 
published in 1855 by Louisa Johnson, there ap- 



18 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

pears under the heading of DahUas the ** Requi- 
sites for a Perfect Flower:" 



1st. The general form should be two thirds of a sphere 
or globe. The rows of petals forming this globe should 
describe unbroken circles, lying over each other with even- 
ness and regularity and gradually diminishing until they 
approach the top. The petals comprising each succeeding 
row should be spirally arranged, and alternately, like the 
scales of a fir cone, thereby concealing the joints and mak- 
ing the circle more complete. 

2nd — The petals should be broad at the ends, perfectly 
free from notch or indentation of any kind, firm in sub- 
stance and smooth in texture. They should be bold and 
free, and gently cup, but never curl or quill, nor show the 
under sides ; they should be of uniform size and evenly and 
proportionately diminishing until they approach the sum- 
mit, when they should gently turn the reverse way, point- 
ing toward and forming a neat and close centre. 

3rd — ^The colour in itself should be dense and clear; if in 
an edged flower, concentrated and well defined; and in 
both cases penetrating through the petal with an ap- 
pearance of substance and solidarity. 

4th — Size must be comparative. 

Imagine whipping God's creatures into such 
monstrosities as this! Is it a wonder that soon 
after that interest flagged because human nature 
rebelled at calling such a flower beautiful? 

For twenty years dahlias waited — and then 
came Juarezii. Hybridizing began again, but 



Early Dahlia Culture 19 

with other ends in view. At last the *' Countess 
of Lonsdale " came into being, and the versatility 
and beauty of the dahlia made itself evident. 

And now what have we.^^ 

So many forms we cannot classify them. 

So many colours we cannot describe them. 

So many varieties we cannot name them. 

So many admirers we cannot count them! 



CHAPTER III 

SITUATION 

MEXICO, though placed within the tropical 
zone, possesses by strange freaks of Nature 
nearly every variety of climate found between 
the Equator and the North Pole. It is this which 
our predecessors did not understand when they 
struggled with the precious seeds sent to them 
from that far-off land. It was this subject on 
which their friends out there did not trouble to 
enlighten them. 

The eastern part of Mexico, bordering the 
entire Atlantic coast and reaching fifty or sixty 
miles inland, is called the '*Tierra Caliente" or 
hot region. There are found vast stretches of 
sandy plain, parched with the blistering sun, 
alternating with almost impenetrable forests. 
The air is heavy with the odour of exotic 
flowering shrubs and vines, of dank earth 
and rotting vegetation. Vicious biting insects 
are waiting for their prey. The heat is unbear- 
able. 

Suffocating, and dreading the malaria and 

20 



Situation 21 

deadly " vomito," ^ one is glad to leave it to enter 
the higher, purer atmosphere. Four thousand 
feet above the ocean level there stretches out 
another country called "Tierra Templada" or 
temperate region, whose vegetation represents 
that of the southern temperate zone. The na- 
tives grow here their crops of corn and sugar 
cane, and cattle graze contentedly among the 
hills. 

Pushing farther on, some two hundred miles 
inland, always climbing higher, brings us to that 
vast tableland, six thousand feet above the sea, 
which the Mexicans call "Tierra Fria" or cold 
region, and whose climate is unsurpassed. 

Cold it seems indeed with the thoughts of 
Vera Cruz and Tampico still fresh in mind, 
though the mean temperature both summer and 
winter averages but 60° Fahrenheit. The air 
is exceedingly dry, but the daily thunder show- 
ers during the "rainy season," or summer, keep 
the vegetation rich and plentiful. 

Across this great plateau lies a chain of vol- 
canic mountains whose peaks, covered with 
eternal snows, cool the level lands below. Far- 
ther inland, midway between the two oceans, 
lies the famous Valley of Mexico where stood 
the ancient cities of Mexico and Tezcuco. The 

I'TeUow Fever." 



22 The Amateur^s Booh of the Dahlia 

slope of the Sierra de Ajucco, south of the Valley 
of Mexico, is known locally as the Pedigral or 
Stony Place, where lava beds of centuries ago 
still hold the fantastic forms they took when 
these mountains were venting their fury. There 
the dahlias flourish in all their glory — acres and 
acres of them in every hue and colour. 

Three of the eight varieties of dahlias known 
to grow in Mexico are to be found here. Of the 
others, some grow in even higher altitudes, 
and some in other localities. Of these, Dahlia 
coccinea is the hardiest, and was probably what 
Cavanilles first had in his garden in Madrid. 

This Pedigral is not the only place where wild 
dahlias grow in such profusion. There are many 
such spots on the volcanic mountain slopes 
where their roots may delve among the crum- 
bling lava which feeds them and keeps them cool 
and moist. Low-hanging clouds, swinging among 
the hills, temper the sun and bathe them with the 
dew so necessary for their existence. 

All during the late summer and early autumn 
these dahlias keep up their mass of bloom; but 
in October and November, when the daily show- 
ers cease and the ''dry season" sets in in earnest, 
the moisture stored up in the "water-pipe" 
stem gradually goes back to the mother-tuber 
and nourishes it until it is time to sprout again. 



Situation 23 

The tops dry up and crumble into dust, which, 
forming valuable leaf mould, mulches and feeds 
them during the next year's growth. 

During the summer insects have been busy 
pollinating the blossoms. One has had a taste 
from a yellow flower and thence danced over to 
a red one, brushing the pollen of the first upon 
the pistil of the second. Seeds have ripened and 
scattered over the rocks into nooks and crannies 
and the rain has washed the leaf mould and lava 
dust over them. In the spring they throw up 
their tender shoots, and lo! in August another 
flower is born! It is neither red nor yellow. 
Possibly, it is striped of both — possibly purple, 
possibly white — but it is almost never like either 
parent. 

Ejiowing this much concerning the home and 
habit of the plant, it is perhaps easier to judge 
how best to treat them in the higher stages of 
their development. 

We must be guided by the fundamental prin- 
ciples on which their life depends, but always 
bear in mind that just as civilized man cannot 
thrive on the food of the savage, so also the gar- 
den dahlia must naturally be more exacting than 
the wild as to its requirements. 

But dahlias do not always demand high 
altitude. The sea-level dahlia farms on Cape 



24 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

Cod and on the Western Shore in Maryland 
prove this. My garden stands 400, not 4,000, 
feet above the sea. 

Two things, however, they must have: fresh 
air and moisture. In the land of their origin these 
may only be found in the Tierra Fria, but far- 
ther north such altitude means frost — the night- 
mare of the dahlia. 

Far north in colder climates or in England, 
where the thin rays of the sun have little warmth, 
they may be planted near a garden wall which 
shelters them and helps to keep them warm. In 
the average American garden, however, the cruel 
sun must be tempered or the plants will sulk 
in discouragement. 

If it is possible to choose the location, a north- 
easterly exposure would be ideal; but if that can- 
not be done, place the dahlias where they may 
have sun in the morning and shade the latter 
part of the day. Dahlias are jealous of tree 
roots. If trees are destined to give that shade, 
beware, and make them keep their distance. 

A free circulation of air among the plants is 
important. The soft green growth heats up 
and decays quickly in stagnant air, therefore 
walls and hedges which shut them in are harm- 
ful and should be avoided. 

An open level bit of land bathed in the morn- 



Situation 25 

ing sun; a few tall trees to shade them shortly 
after noon; a gentle rise of ground at the back 
perhaps, which will shed its overplus of rain 
upon the beds, and the site is ideal. Here 
dahlias will have fresh air and moisture — two 
important factors in their growth, as has already 
been said. 



CHAPTER IV 

SOIL — COMPOSITION AND PREPARATION 

IN THE first place, soil is divided into two 
great classes, though each must be divided 
again, according to its physical differences. 
These two great classes may be called "Mineral 
Soils " and " Organic Soils, or Peat." The former 
class covers the greater part of the earth's sur- 
face, while the latter may be found in swamps 
or in places where, under certain climatic condi- 
tions, an accumulation of vegetation after great 
length of time becomes available soil. 

Peaty soils are composed almost entirely of 
vegetable matter, with but little mineral, if 
any at all, contained in it. On the contrary, 
mineral soils are created through the disintegra- 
tion of rocks and stones by action of water, frost, 
or the atmosphere, and need not contain peat to 
be fertile. 

Peat may be divided into two classes — that 
containing fibre and that which does not. The 
peat to be found in this country has practically 
no fibre, and is most useful to mix in our gardens 

26 



Soil — Composition and Preparation 27 

where either clay or sand predominates. In the 
case of clay, it helps to divide it, and in the case of 
sandy soil, it helps toward retention of moisture. 

According to Tanner's "First Principles of 
Agriculture" mineral soils may be divided into 
five classes, according to their physical differ- 
ences due to either of two principal ingredients — 
clay and sand. The table given below explains 
itself : — 

Name of Soil Percentage of Sand 

Sand 80 to 100 

Sandy Loam 60 to 80 

Loam 40 to 60 

Clay Loam (or "heavy" loam) . . . 20 to 40 

Clay . to 20 

Therefore loam as we need it in the garden con- 
tains about an equal amount of clay and sand. 

We can, of course, go very deeply into chemical 
differences, but for the present it is sufficient to 
know that soil may be "sour," and may be 
"sweet." Either condition can easily be deter- 
mined by placing litmus paper in the soil when 
wet. If the paper turns pink the soil is sour, 
if blue the soil is sweet. Peat and clay are 
nearly always sour, owing to the fact that there 
is little or no air in the soil, and thus acids 
quickly form. 



28 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

Taking into consideration the natural habitat 
of the wild dahlias on the volcanic mountain 
sides, we can quickly understand that the 
foundation of the soil is disintegrated rock, or 
mineral soil, combined with decayed vegetable 
matter. 

Lava is melted rock often mixed with burnt 
rock or volcanic ash, and which has been hard- 
ened on reaching the air. This after ages of 
time is crumbled into dust by action of the 
elements, forming a very fertile soil. The lava 
soils in the Mexican highlands are rich in mineral 
phosphates and potash, which slowly become 
available as plant food and form the chief diet 
of the dahlia. 

The soils in various parts of my garden are so 
unlike that each must be treated differently. So 
it must be with the soils in the gardens of my 
readers. 

It is safe to say, however, that the average 
soil is deficient in phosphates where dahlias are 
to be grown: and this substance may in prac- 
tically all cases be generously added. Whether 
phosphoric acid is derived from animal or 
mineral sources, the chemical analysis is always 
the same; but the different mediums which con- 
tain it vary in percentage of content. 

"Superphosphates" are merely phosphates 




The gentle grace of the Peony type 
(Gertrude Dahl) 



Soil — Composition and Preparation 29 

made, by chemical treatment, immediately avail- 
able, and in the case of dahlias are unnecessary. 
Animal phosphates are more quickly available 
through the action of decay than are mineral 
phosphates, which are set free by the air and 
water in the soil. For this reason, ground bone, 
a substance which contains a high percentage of 
phosphoric acid (and some nitrogen), is the best 
medium for phosphates in the dahlia beds in 
soils which are not originally volcanic. 

Potash is also an important factor in the 
composition of soil for dahlias, and wood ashes 
is the simplest and best material to mix in the 
beds for this purpose — especially ashes from 
hardwoods such as hickory, oak, etc. 

Phosphoric acid gives the dahlia a vigorous 
constitution — a healthy root system and strong 
stems; potassium enables the plant to withstand 
the attacks of fungous diseases and, combined 
with phosphates containing some of the minor 
elements, such as nitrogen, lime, etc., forms the 
perfectly balanced ration. 

If the soil is stony, sift it through a coarse wire 
mesh. Tubers like the shelter of a large rock 
in the mountains, but they do not like a stone 
in the shoe! Stones interfere with the growth 
of the tubers. 

If the soil is gravelly, dig it all out and replace 



30 The Amateur s Booh 0/ the Dahlia 

with fresh loam. Gravel contains no food ele- 
ment nor does it hold moisture. 

If the soil is too light and sandy, add clay and 
some humus — either in the form of peat, or, and 
better still, strawy manure from the barnyard. 

If the soil is of that wicked clay which bakes 
and cracks and tends to turn to stone, add fresh 
sand and all the peat or rotted leaf mould that 
it will hold. 

Remember, according to our table, that in the 
case of either clay soil or sandy soil, enough of 
the opposite ingredient should be added to make 
the quantities about even. 

Bonemeal, wood ashes, and peat (or leaf mould, 
which may be used in its place) added to 
ordinary garden loam forms as near the ideal 
diet for a dahlia as the volcanic soil and leaf 
mould of its original haunts. 

The matter of leaf mould might almost have 
a chapter to itself, there is so much to say. It is 
Nature's own fertilizer. It is all she uses to feed 
her own garden year by year; yet we, in our 
ignorance, destroy it to the value of millions of 
dollars annually. We complain that barnyard 
manure is almost unprocurable, that artificial 
fertilizers are expensive and unsatisfactory; yet 
we have at our doors the most valuable material 
we could ask for — only to burn it up ! 



Soil — Composition and Preparation 31 

Please do not burn the leaves this autumn! 
Instead dig a pit in some out-of-the-way corner. 
The most convenient size is twelve feet long, 
eight feet wide, and two feet deep; but, of course, 
it can be made smaller, to suit the size of the 
garden. If there are many trees, dig many pits, 
for above all, save every leaf that falls. 

During the summer months drop into the pit 
the exliausted vines of peas, string beans, etc., and 
sprinkle a little soil over them if you have any. 
When the leaves begin to fall rake them up as 
heretofore. Instead of putting them into neat 
little piles along the paths and road gutters, set- 
ting fire to them and making the air pungent 
with the smoke, carry them in sacks or barrows 
and dump them into your pit. Protect them 
with garden trash, old sod, brush, or bagging 
or anything handy which will keep them from 
scattering. If rain does not fall at a convenient 
time, turn the hose on them. Keep adding to 
the pile as the leaves fall, and by winter there will 
be quite a mountain. The snow and ice will 
weight them down and in melting will decay 
them. During summer the heat and the rain 
will continue the process. If you have the time, 
fork them over once or twice, giving them a good 
wetting also to help the disintegration. By au- 
tumn you will have the finest fertilizer which the 



32 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

garden could wish for, and practically without 
cost. If your leaves predominate in hardwoods 
— oak, ash, hickory, etc. — the process will be 
much slower than when leaves of maple, elm, 
gum, etc., are decaying. For hardwood leaves 
keep two heaps going — one to rest another year 
while the other is being used and again refilled. 

I have heard a number of people say that the 
first fallen leaves harbour disease and therefore 
should be burned. This I have never found to 
to be so in any well-ordered garden. Trees in- 
fected with scale, fire blight, etc., show their 
condition early in the summer. That the 
spraying and cutting out and destroying of such 
trees is promptly done goes without saying, and 
a certain amount of extra care where such condi- 
tions exist is wise. Making this a general prac- 
tice is not necessary. 

I can hear someone say: "I have gravelly soil 
where I want my dahlias and if I am to dig it all 
out, where am I to get new soil to put in its 
place? " Here is an excellent receipt for making 
good soil if you have time to spare and are able 
to secure a little fresh stable manure and some 
loam or some clay and sand : 

Put down a bed about two feet thick of fresh 
stable manure which has never become heated. 
If your two-foot pit has been dug, all the better, 



Soil — Composition and Preparation 33 

as all leaching may thus be saved. Over the 
manure spread leaves, garden trash, and all 
kitchen refuse, two feet more, and over that six 
or eight inches of loam or clay and sand. Al- 
ternate the three layers, one foot deep each, 
until the pile has reached a convenient height 
and the last layer is soil. Wood ashes, lime, or 
old plaster scattered between the layers of trash 
will keep the soil from becoming sour, and 
bonemeal sprinkled in the soil will add greatly 
to its fertility. 

The manure soon becomes heated, breaking 
down the fibre and tougher materials in the 
compost, killing all weed seeds, and destroying 
pupa and insects. Wetting it aids materially 
in the decomposition, and in a year the finest 
garden loam in the world is to be had. 

The shallow pit is not, of course, absolutely 
necessary, but it will hold the precious liquid 
in the lower layers after seeping through the 
compost, instead of running to waste on the 
surface of the ground where there is no pit. 

The use of coal ashes in the making of dahlia 
soil is of very questionable benefit. Many think 
that it contains considerable fertilizing value. 
Analysis has shown, however, that it possesses 
only traces of soluble potash and phosphoric 
acid, and even such analyses vary with the 



34 The Amateur^ s Book of the Dahlia 

different qualities of coal. Coal ashes has done 
so much harm to my dahlias that it is forbidden 
in the garden now. Perhaps a little test I made 
five or six years ago may show my reason for 
this. 

Two beds were made side by side, about nine 
feet square. The original soil was the same New 
Jersey red clay, sour, stony, and with but little 
life. Trenching was done, as I shall describe 
later, and one was lightened with sand while the 
other received the same amount of sifted coal 
ashes. Both were enriched with the same quan- 
tities of leaf mould and bonemeal. Into both the 
beds I planted three tubers each of three varieties 
of dahlias — the same varieties in each, all of strong 
growing habit. Then I waited. 

Dahlias in the ash bed grew slowly. The 
plants were stunted, the stems were short, the 
flowers small — their toes seemed to hurt! The 
roots when dug were much smaller than the 
other bed, and covered with the limey substance 
of the ash as though they had segregated it from 
the rest of the soil. 

The other bed grew dahlias as I like to see 
them: tall plants, luscious foliage and flowers, 
with enormous roots to dig. 

Lime is not necessary in the ordinary garden 
soil for dahlias. There may be a case when. 



Soil — Composition and Preparation 35 

in the making of soil, muck or sour peat is in- 
corporated freshly the first year. At such a 
time a very little lime might be beneficial. My 
own beds, in all the fifteen years that dahlias 
have grown there, never have had an application 
of lime. 

The small percentage of lime in bonemeal 
and the chemical reaction of nitrate fertilizers 
which dahlias usually receive at the end of 
summer, is sufficiently sweetening for all their 
purposes. 

Our lovable friend, the veteran of gardeners, 
Dean Hole, once made a remark which another 
lovable friend in Oregon since brought up to 
date, saying: *'It is better to plant a ten-cent 
root in a hole which cost a dollar to make, than to 
plant a root costing a dollar in a hole which cost 
ten cents to make." 

The hole for the dahlia will cost a dollar the 
first time if properly made, but it is there to stay. 

Choose the location so that the beds may be 
prepared in the autumn. There are many reasons 
for this. 

We have more time after the summer's work is 
over, therefore the work will be more thoroughly 
and intelligently done. 

We can more easily procure the ingredients for 



36 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

the proper soil, and the beds, freshly dug, have an 
opportunity to settle before planting. 

We have just been to the dahlia shows and have 
seen the most wonderful of all flower creations. 
We have ordered every new variety which has 
taken our fancy and we plan to do them all the 
justice possible. Above everything else, we are 
going to grow dahlias to beat our neighbours ! 

Dahlias, with all their variability, are most 
accommodating as to soil. They will do pretty 
well in clay soil, they will do very well in sandy 
soil; but if we are going to beat our neighbours, 
we must give them a slightly sandy loam to a 
depth of eighteen inches. There must be no 
hard clay to squeeze as the tubers wish to ex- 
pand. The bed must be retentive of moisture, 
for the ' 'water pipes " must have a source to draw 
from. There must be a good supply of phos- 
phates to give the plant vigour and a good con- 
stitution. 

Trenching is the best method for making any 
flower bed permanent. One can then be sure 
that the soil is as good at the bottom as at the 
top and the annual feeding is all that it will need 
to the end of time. 

Few amateurs know what trenching the gar- 
den really means. Few garden books do more 
than mention it in a cursory manner; and only a 




The Singles have an artistic appeal for cut-flower 
decoration 



Soil — Composition and Preparation 37 

few times in my life have I seen it properly done. 
Trenching for dahlias differs from that for most 
flowers in that drainage at the bottom is un- 
necessary and sometimes harmful, excepting 
where the beds are liable to be flooded in the 
springtime. Where roses are grown, the lowest 
strata of subsoil should either be blasted, or 
broken stones placed there, to allow the water 
to flow away. For dahlias that stored-up mois- 
ture is precious and must be saved. The sub- 
soil in my own garden is the hardest of hard 
pan — red clay. 

Trenching is really digging a series of tren- 
ches — lengthwise or crosswise of the bed as we 
find most convenient. The first trench should 
be completely dug out, about the width of two 
spades — or wide enough to get into while work- 
ing. The sod and topsoil should be piled to 
one side in a convenient place, for it is destined 
to go into the bottom of the last trench. In the 
average garden there is about a foot of this. 
Dig down about three feet, placing the subsoil 
somewhere quite apart from the other. In the 
bottom of the trench lay at least eighteen 
inches of garden trash — old dahlia stalks, to- 
mato vines, cabbage leaves — even kitchen re- 
fuse, potato peelings, pea pods, egg shells, etc. 
Over this sprinkle a little wood ashes, lime, or 



38 The Amateur^ s Book of the Dahlia 

old plaster if you have it (there is no harm in 
using coal ashes here, since it is so far down that 
the dahlia tubers can never reach it), and upon it 
throw the sod and soil from the next trench as it 
is being dug, breaking it up thoroughly. This 
brings up the subsoil of the second trench which 
is to form the topsoil of the first. In few cases 
is the subsoil entirely infertile. The addition 
of bonemeal and leaf mould well incorporated 
thoroughly aerates it and causes the chemicals 
in it to become available. Sand, of course, 
should be mixed with both subsoil and topsoil 
in varying quantities according to its content 
of clay; or clay and manure mixed with them 
according to their content of sand. 

Each following trench being merely the next 
two spade widths of soil adjoining the previous 
one, it is simple enough to turn the soil from one 
into the other; but care must be given to the 
thorough breaking up of the soil and mixing of 
the ingredients which are to be incorporated. 
Add bonemeal to the last eighteen inches of top- 
soil at the rate of one pound to three square feet, 
but when finished the whole bed must be twelve 
to eighteen inches higher than the level of the 
surrounding beds. The green manure at the 
bottom of the bed will decay during the winter, 
and the ground will naturally settle. 



Soil — Composition and Preparation 39 

When the last trench has been dug out, and 
the bottom packed with the kitchen and garden 
trash, we must resort to the wheelbarrow to 
carry the contents of the first trench to it. Top- 
soil goes in first, of course, and the subsoil follow- 
ing, just as in the others. 

Bonemeal may be bought in 200-lb. bags 
almost anywhere. The finest "bonedust" is 
not necessary, and is generally wasteful. The 
next coarser, the kind generally used in the 
rose beds, is the best, and if it can be got fine 
enough in the "green" or "raw" state, so 
much the better. Placed in the soil in Novem- 
ber, it decays during the winter and is ready 
for immediate assimilation by the dahlia roots in 
the spring. 

The soil, if treated annually with bonemeal, 
will grow dahlias continually. My own dahlias 
have been grown in the same beds for fifteen 
years, and are finer to-day than they ever were. 



CHATTER V 

PROPAGATION 

iROPAGATION is merely a process whereby 
a given plant may, by one means or an- 
other, be increased to as many as desired. There 
are several methods practised among dahlia 
growers. 

An old French botany, dated 1803, suggests 
that, in order to increase the dahlia plants and 
to prevent overcrowding of the roots, the gar- 
dener should rake away the winter mulch in 
early April, and force a spade through the mid- 
dle of the clump! Thus, it states, by trans- 
planting half the old clump elsewhere, twice as 
many bushes may be grown. 

I have known gardeners, even in these en- 
lightened days, to do this to peonies, and then 
wonder why they did not bloom. Such mur- 
derous methods of division will discourage even 
the fortitude of the most vigorous of dahlias, 
and we cannot wonder at the reported losses 
of plants during the early years of their career 
in Europe. 

40 



Propagation 41 

During the hundred and fifty years of dahlia 
culture since its first introduction, we have 
learned the wisdom of digging and storing the 
roots every autumn. But oh! next spring! 

How many times have I seen men and women 
of real intelligence dig a large hole in the ground 
and gently lay into it the whole clump just 
as it had been taken up in the autumn! It is 
so hard to dissuade these people from the wisdom 
of their ways — they have grown dahlias for years 
and years, and have always done it so ! 

What is the result of such planting? Practi- 
cally every tuber formed last year sends up a 
shoot which is destined to become a plant in 
itself. From three to ten plants are thus com- 
pelled to grow in the space which should have 
held but one. The roots become crowded and 
strangle one another. There is not enough 
available plant food in so small a space to 
nourish so many hungry children. Only a few 
survive, and those have only strength enough 
to reach out with leaves to gather nourishment 
from the air; the effect is a dense, compact 
bush with but few if any blossoms on it. What 
flowers there are are small and poor, and the 
double varieties, seeming to fear that their 
species may become extinct, put out a few 
single or semi-double blossoms, hoping that the 



42 The Amateur'' s Booh of the Dahlia 

resulting seeds will carry on what their roots 
cannot. 

Examine the clump carefully. You will read- 
ily see that the tubers radiate horizontally from 
the main stalk, and that there is usually a 
knuckle at the po nt of attachment. As a rule 
an ''eye" is to be found in this knuckle, though 
it does not manifest itself until spring, when it 
begins to swell. Each eye wants to be a plant, 
but it must have a tuber to subsist upon until it 
is well started in life. 

Each tuber in the clump should he detached so 
that an eye remains connected with it. Often 

the eye dies in its 
infancy and these 
tubers are called 
"blind." They 
will grow under- 
ground for a while, 
but not being able 
to send a shoot up- 
ward to breathe 
and draw nourish- 
ment from the air, 
they soon die of 
suffocation. 
Very often eyes are to be found high up on the 
main stalk. If a blind tuber is left attached to 




Average clump of tubers ready to 
be separated. Larger tubers should 
be cut short where mdicated. 



Propagation 43 

the stalk and the whole planted so deep in the 
soil that the eye is six inches below the level, 
a fine plant will be the result. 

The eye must have a tuber to nourish it, and a 
tuber must have an eye, or there will be no plant. 
The neck of the tuber is often very slender, and 
it is fatal to break or even strain it. The cir- 
culation between the two seems to travel close 
under the surface of this neck, so that the slight- 
est injury destroys its life. 

This condition can also be used to advantage 
when two eyes are to be found in one knuckle. 
If the neck is not too slender, the whole may be 
split down the middle with a sharp knife, and if 
the neck is not strained, two perfectly good 
plants will be the result. Of course if the half 
neck should become strained the eye connected 
with it will not grow. 

Two instruments are necessary for the sepa- 
rating of dahlia tubers — a pair of very small 
pruning shears and a sharp-pointed knife with 
slightly flexible blade. A new cheap kitchen 
knife, generally used for cutting vegetables, is 
what I always get. Such knives cost ten cents — 
they even did during the war — and two or three 
of them, allowing for breakage, suflSces to cut 
up five or six hundred tubers each spring. 

Usually by the end of March or early April 



44 The Amateur s Booh of the Dahlia 

the eyes begin to swell and it is possible to begin 
operations. Unless there is need to separate 
the tubers for shipment, etc., it is wiser to 
delay this as late as possible without allowing 
the clumps to grow long shoots. If the eyes 
are not sufficiently prominent, wash the clump 
off and set to one side in a warm dark room 
for a few days. They will soon be noticeable 
enough. 

First cut off all broken tubers with the shears, 
and those whose necks have been strained. If 
the eyes have developed into long shoots cut 
them back so that one joint remains. This is to 
guard against the breaking off of the shoot during 
the handling of the clump. Should a shoot be 
broken off, nothing more will develop from the 
wound. Care must also be exercised not to in- 
jure the little eyes by the slipping of the knife, 
or they also will not develop. 

Study the clump carefully. If the eyes have 
developed on the stock in groups, split the stalk 
so that there will be a group of tubers connected 
with each group of eyes. These groups may in 
turn be subdivided, though often several must 
be left attached to but one tuber. After plant- 
ing such groups, and the eyes have grown to 
shoots four or five inches tall, they may be 
detached and potted, or even set in the warm 




Striking contrasts of colour and form characterize 
the Collarette 



Propagation 45 

earth. They will grow into splendid plants al- 
most as soon as the others. 

In separating the eyes and tubers, select the 
most promising tuber first. With the point of 
the knife make small incisions all around the 
knuckle containing the eye, gradually working 
underneath and gently lifting out the whole. 
After one tuber has been cut, those following are 
more easily removed. 

Should a tuber be unusually large, cut it down 
at least one half before planting, or it will grow 
poorly and be slow in developing new tubers. 

I have said what can be done if two eyes are 
to be found in a knuckle. A thick-necked tuber 
can also be divided into three parts by an 
expert if three eyes are to be found; but if more 
than that should be in evidence, it is better to 
plant the tuber, letting all eyes grow as already 
described. 

I have even seen experts cut a single shoot in 
two, splitting the tuber at the same time. Such 
an operation is of doubtful value, however, as 
the wounded shoot in healing becomes hardened, 
and the circulation of sap is retarded. 

The average well-grown clump has from three 
to ten eyes; and if there are tubers enough and 
they are skillfully separated, at least as many 
plants can be made. 



46 The Amateur^s Booh of the Dahlia 

A very small tuber, provided it is healthy, will 
make as good a plant as, if not better than, a 
larger one. All the tuber is for is to give the 
shoot a start in life — new tubers will develop 
directly afterward. The monster tubers, even 
though they send out thick, strong shoots at 
first, are not so valuable, unless cut down to 
less than half. They are the mother tubers of 
the year before, sometimes two or three years 
old, and are often hollow. The vigorous shoots 
soon become hardened and "woody," and 
blooms from such plants are poor and imperfect. 
Cutting these large ones down causes the plant 
to form new tubers, and the old piece disappears 
during the summer. 

Tubers should be very carefully packed for 
shipment. The eye should be well protected 
against injury or breakage in case it has grown 
to any length. It should be kept a bit moist 
if it is to travel any distance. Some growers 
merely send them rolled up in paper packed in 
an ordinary box; and if luck is with the recipient 
they are still alive on reaching their destination. 

The best way, however, is to wrap a bit of 
moist sphagnum moss around the eye and roll the 
whole tuber in waxed paper. The paper pro- 
tects against breakage and keeps the moisture 
in. Ship small tubers if possible; not because 



Propagation 47 

they are light but because they travel better and 
the shoot attached does not so easily become 
damaged. Take no risks with the transporta- 
tion people, but pack them in wooden boxes; 
mark the packages both "Fragile" and "Perish- 
able," and insure them for their full value. The 
life of the dahlia is at stake ! 

Once in a while we have something extra fine, 
and we need to have a lot of plants. Perhaps 
we wish to make a big showing of them in the 
garden, or our neighbours are begging one in 
exchange. Maybe they are very expensive to 
buy, or maybe they cannot be bought at all. 
The clump, perhaps, is very small, with but two 
or three eyes when we had hoped to have a 
dozen. Under these circumstances, we must 
resort to the rooting of green cuttings. 

To do this properly, the roots should be al- 
lowed to rest at least a month or more after dig- 
ging. The tubers undergo a change during the 
dormant period which gives them better strength 
to renew growth for the following season. 

Select only the strongest clumps from plants 
which were healthy and bloomed true the 
summer before. About the first of January the 
clumps should be placed on the benches of a 
cool greenhouse (about Q5°) and thinly covered 
with light soil. Water sparingly and shade from 



48 The Amateur* s Book of the Dahlia 

the direct rays of the sun. Some of the large 
growers use sawdust over the tubers in the 
place of soil, in order to save the labour of weeding 
hundreds of feet of bench space. This is not 
to be recommended for the amateur or in the 
case of rare varieties, as the tubers, being unable 
to derive nourishment from the sawdust, become 
exhausted and are useless for planting afterward. 
Second cuttings taken from plants grown in 
sawdust are poor and weakly, and can never give 
satisfaction. It is a poor method at best, and 
not one used by the commercial grower except 
to get plants for his own use. 

The length of time which the tuber takes to 
sprout varies greatly with the types. In from 
two to five weeks some of the little shoots show 
three pairs of leaves. I know men who always 
nip off the end of the shoot as soon as the first 
joint appears, stating that the terminal of the 
first shoot makes a poor plant. Unless the shoot 
is thick and hollow, I do not find this so, but use 
it as my best cutting. The terminal flower of a 
dahlia plant is invariably the finest of the bush 
unless it has been blighted by some accident. 
If there are many shoots, cut the thickest off 
close to the tuber when three joints have formed, 
and root it in a pot of soil. 

Cut the sprouts off between the first and 



Propagation 49 

second joint, always leaving one joint on the 
shoot still attached to the tuber. Trim off 
the lower leaves from this cutting, and if the 
terminal leaves are large cut them to half the 
size to save evaporation. The cut should be 




Green cutting as taken from sprout. Leaves 
and stem to be trimmed where indicated 

made close under the joint so that roots may 
start from both the joint itself and the cut below. 
Place an inch of good light soil in the bottom 
of a box six inches deep, giving good drainage 
underneath. Fill the box with clean wet sand 
to within an inch of the top, and place on a 
bench which has bottom heat, or in the hot bed. 
Insert the cutting into the sand directly after 



50 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

trimming, so that the joints which have been 
trimmed are just covered; but do not allow them 
to come in contact with the soil at the bottom 
of the box. A good instrument for inserting the 

cuttings is an ordinary pot 
label. Force it down the 
desired depth and press the 
sand back, allowing space 
wherein to set the cutting. 
Press the sand firmly 
around each cutting before 
putting in the next one. 

The temperature of the 
house should be about Q^"^ 
or 70° with free circulation 
of air, and the cuttings 

The same cutting ready for j^ j ^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^ ^^^ ^j^^ 

rooting 

direct rays of the sun. 
The sand must, of course, be always damp 
and warm. Stagnant air and cold, wet sand 
will cause the cuttings to *'damp off." 

In about three weeks, sometimes more, some 
of the cuttings will have thrown out little hair- 
like roots, which may run into the soil under the 
sand, and take a bit of nourishment while their 
slower neighbours are only just commencing 
life. 

Then is the time to pot them. Use a sandy 




Propagation 51 

loam mixed with well -decayed leaf mould or peat, 
planting in a three-inch pot, and plunging them 
again into sand on the warm bench. As soon as 
the little plants take hold of the soil and show 
signs of growing, they should be set in a cool, 
bright part of the house or plunged into the 
cold frame, where they may grow slowly, until 
it is time to set them in their permanent beds. 
Slow growth at this stage is of great importance, 
for it gives the constitution to the plant for the 
rest of its life. It must have time to assimilate 
its food ; and the growth in the soil, the formation 
of the baby tubers, is more important than the 
growth of the leaves. 

Do not let the roots become crowded in the 
pots. Shift to larger pots in order to give them 
plenty of room, enriching the soil at that time 
with bonemeal. If the roots become crowded 
and the tubers form in a twisted mass in the pot, 
they never seem to untangle again in the garden, 
and the development of the bush is always 
affected. 

There is an excellent method of rooting green 
cuttings by filling a three-inch pot with good soil 
and forcing a thick stick down the centre to make 
a hole a couple of inches deep. The cutting is 
held in place in this hole and sand poured in, 
completely surrounding the cutting, protecting 



52 The Amateur^ s Book of the Dahlia 

it from the soil. The pot is then plunged into 
warm, wet sand in order to root the cutting. 
Transplanting from the rooting bench is thus 
obviated, as the plant continues to grow in the 
same pot from the very beginning. This is 
often done in the growing of '*pot roots," of 
which more later. 

While the first lot of cuttings are rooting in the 
sand, the joints of the shoots left on the plants 
have thrown out two new shoots each. These 
in turn may be taken off when three sets of leaves 
have formed, always leaving a joint behind. 

Every time a cutting is taken. Mother Nature 
provides two more shoots to take its place. The 
temptation to go on and on, ever producing more 
plants, is often too great for a grower to resist. 
These poor, weak, last-grown plants have caused 
the death-knell of many a promising variety, for 
the purchaser will naturally discard them when 
they fail. 

Every tuber is provided with just so much 
strength. That strength becomes exhausted 
after many cuttings have been taken, and fur- 
ther plants are weak and sickly. They produce 
poor flowers and seldom have a tuber which 
will "carry on" to next year. Four, or possibly 
six, plants from each shoot is all that is safe to 
make. 




Grafting a green shoot on an old tuber 



Propagation 53 

Green plants are too often condemned as not 
being so satisfactory as those grown direct from 
the tuber. This is usually the fault of the 
grower, and if plants are purchased, the gar- 
dener should make very sure of the man from 
whom he gets them. 

Green plants must be started early and 
grown slowly. Those started late and grown 
rapidly make large bushes above ground, but 
they seldom have roots which winter well. 

Over-propagation — i.e., too many green plants 
taken from the mother clump — is too often 
practised by growers who have more greed than 
common sense. This is another cause for the 
gardener's general condemnation. 

There is one slip, however, in the growing of 
purchased green plants, which is the fault of the 
gardener himself. It is his lack of knowledge as 
to how to treat the newly arrived baby. The 
plant was born and brought up with the tender- 
est care, indoors. It was shaded from the hot 
sun and given water at regular intervals. Sud- 
denly it was placed in a close dark box and 
tumbled about for several days, finally to emerge 
in a strange country. Usually the gardener takes 
it out of the box and immediately plants it in the 
garden like a potted geranium. 

The poor little plant is tired out after its 



54 The Amateur^s Booh of the Dahlia 

harrowing experience, and is frightened almost 
to death in the large wide world with not a plant 
nearer than three feet away. Next day the 
sun is hot and the baby faints away until the 
gardener gives it a drink of water. Or it is 
storming hard and the rain and wind beat it and 
spatter mud upon it — or maybe it is completely 
washed away! 

The newly arrived green plant should be 
potted and allowed to rest for a week or more in 
the cold frame. It should be shaded from the 
bright sun and watered regularly. Gradually 
"harden" it off, and take advantage of a cloudy 
day when setting it out in its permanent place 
in the garden. Even then shading may be nec- 
essary if the weather turns hot. 

Green plants properly started, grown slowly, 
and carefully tended during their early life will 
make as fine and vigorous plants as any grown 
direct from the tubers. If there are plenty of 
tubers it is not, of course, worth while to take so 
much trouble. Where tubers are scarce and the 
variety is in demand, no amount of trouble is too 
much if it does not interfere with the health of 
the plant. 

Plants for shipping should be carefully se- 
lected. They should always have small tubers, 
and not too much foliage. Knock them out of 



Propagation 55 

the pots when quite wet, roll the ball of earth 
in cloth, and tie. (Paper is liable to melt away, 
allowing the soil to shake free from the roots.) 
This cloth should, of course, be removed when 
planting out. Pack in a strong box with ex- 
celsior to keep them rigidly in place. If possible, 
perforate the box for the sake of ventilation, for 
in all stages of growth the condition paramount 
to success with dahlias is a free circulation of air. 

Never use this process for propagating seed- 
lings or very new varieties, no matter how 
valuable. Propagate them by root division only, 
and guard the precious plants as you would your 
family jewels. The vigour of a new variety takes 
several years to establish. Some have no 
vigour at all to work upon and should be dis- 
carded no matter how beautiful. These are 
usually the result of inbreeding, though crossed 
with some other varieties will sometimes make 
good parents. 

A seedling which shows good root system in 
the beginning, after being increased by division 
for three or four years, may be propagated 
sparingly through green cuttings. 

It might be better, perhaps, to begin propa- 
gating by "root cuttings" before green cuttings 
are made. This process varies from the others 
in that after a shoot grows a few inches high, it is 



56 The Amateur'' s Booh of the Dahlia 

carefully cut away with a tiny piece of the tuber 
or stock attached, and rooted and grown Hke 
any other cutting. The removal of one eye 
induces another eye, dormant heretofore, to 
develop, and this again may be removed when 
grown to the proper size. This method comes 
midway between propagation by root division 
and green cuttings, and is not such a drain on 
the strength of the tuber. More plants may be 
had than by root division, but naturally fewer 
than by making green cuttings. It is a simpler 
method for the beginner. 

Grafting has been tried successfully by a 
number of growers, and in the case of rare and 
valuable plants is an excellent method, for the 
strength of a healthy tuber is given to the cutting 
grafted upon it. The tuber destined to hold the 
graft should already be rooted in a pot (a dis- 
carded "blind" tuber is ideal for this purpose). 
The cutting should be made from a growing 
plant. The stem must be cut wedge-shaped and 
the neck of the tuber cut to fit. The two wounds 
are placed together, bound with raffia, sealed 
with wax, and enough soil put over to cover the 
junction. Bottom heat on the bench will soon 
cause the two to unite, and a fine plant is the 
result. 

Where the cost of labour must be considered. 



Propagation 57 

this process is not commercially profitable, but 
the ease with which late cuttings can be made 
into strong plants should encourage the amateur 
to try it. 

A method of propagation seldom met with in 
this country is that of making "pot roots." 
Commercially, it should be profitable, as the 
roots so made are as easily handled as field-grown 
tubers, and make quite as fine plants. There is 
not nearly as much loss in handling them as there 
is in the handling of green plants, and as cuttings 
for them are usually taken from plants growing 
in the field, they are stronger and more easily 
rooted. 

They are rooted in sand, planted in four-inch 
pots, are plunged close together in the ground, 
and grown as slowly as possible all summer. 
ViTien frost threatens they are lifted into the 
greenhouse, watered regularly, and allowed to 
grow on. The soil in the pots should be friable, 
so that tubers may develop easily, and every 
flower bud should be cut off promptly to en- 
courage root growth. When in January plump 
little tubers have formed, watering is done 
sparingly, and finally ceases. The tops dry up, 
and the pots are set out of the way, in the cool 
storage room, until needed in spring. 

The amateur who has no greenhouse may 



58 The Amateur s Booh of the Dahlia 

overcome this difficulty by merely starting a 
couple of months earlier, making the cuttings 
direct from the clumps, as in the case of the green 
plants used in the garden. 

Remove the clumps from the sand about 
February first and place in the warm dark cellar. 
Sprinkle or syringe daily, keeping them damp 
for about a month, until the eyes have developed. 
About March first place in a half -spent hotbed, 
the soil over the manure being mixed with an 
equal amount of sand. Too rich soil will induce 
rot in the tubers, yet to produce strong plants 
they must have food. About April first the 
clumps will have sent up their shoots. 

Make the cuttings, root, and pot as I have 
described for plants, but as soon as danger of 
frost is past, they may be plunged, pot and all, 
close together in the open ground. Growing 
slowly is important, and by the time frost has 
nipped them the pots contain the fat tubers 
wanted. 

One or two eyes always develop on these roots, 
and, planted directly in the garden like any 
other tuber, they give perfect satisfaction. 

Never propagate green plants from a clump 
which was originally a green plant the year be- 
fore. 

Never propagate pot roots from plants in the 



Propagation 59 

field which were made from green cuttings the 
winter before. 

Never propagate green plants from pot roots. 

This is over-propagation. 

Use only strong, field-grown clumps for propa- 
gation which have been grown from divided 
roots for at least two generations, and which 
have produced the finest blooms, true in form 
and colour. 

I cannot too strongly urge, however, that by 
whatever process propagation is carried out, the 
matter of careful labelling is of the greatest 
importance. When cutting up the tubers, a 
wooden label with copper wire should have the 
name clearly written upon it. The wire may be 
pricked directly through the tuber itself without 
any injury to it and securely fastened before lay- 
ing it to one side. 

In rooting cuttings in sand, if many of one 
variety are to be grown, a box for that variety 
alone should be provided, and a large garden 
label placed in it in a conspicuous position. If 
only a few cuttings each of a number of varieties 
are to be grown, set the cuttings into the sand 
in rows, placing a pot label with the name of the 
variety at the head of each row. 

When the plants are potted, force a stick 
about eight inches long into each pot, and to it 



60 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

fasten a copper-wired plant label bearing its 
name. This label may be attached to the dahlia 
stake when the plant is set out in the garden 
later. 

If labelling is deferred, or carelessly done, 
there is no end of trouble later. "A stitch in 
time saves nine." 



CHAPTER VI 

BREEDING 

THERE never was a lover of dahlias who 
sooner or later did not "try his luck" in the 
production of a new seedling. Most of it is 
haphazard work — just saving a seed pod — and 
if one plant produces a fairly good bloom, lo! 
another goose becomes a swan ! 

There are more than five thousand named 
varieties known to be on the market and oflS- 
cially listed by the American Dahlia Society — 
and they have not stopped counting yet ! Many 
varieties are as alike as twins and some so in- 
ferior that they should not be allowed to con- 
tinue. Some varieties are sold under two or 
three names, and sometimes the same name is 
given to two or three varieties. 

Nevertheless, dahlia breeding should go on, 
but it should be done intelligently and the 
standard looked to should be high — our patience 
should be as great as our ambition. It takes 
years to produce the fine variety which some 
people think they can produce in a few months. 

61 



62 The Amateur^s Booh of the Dahlia 

Undoubtedly the growing of plants from seed 
is the most alluring of all phases of dahlia culture 
— we can never be certain what we shall get. 
From the day the little green sprout cracks 
through the soil and smiles a cheery "good 
morning" we are in a state of suspense. What 
will it do? Will it be a peony, a decorative, or a 
cactus? Will it be white or pink or yellow or 
red — or (and many of us have had dreams!) a 
heavenly blue? For months it does not divulge 
its secret. Then the buds form. They swell. 
To-morrow, maybe, they will show colour. We 

get up early and rush down to see and find ? 

Maybe it's magenta — possibly red and yellow — 
or pink. It might be double, or it might be 
single. It is hard to tell, for dahlia blooms open 
slowly; and early in the morning only a petal or 
two will have broken free. By afternoon we 
are sure, and will either root up and destroy the 
plant — or stand and worship. 

There is little enough we have of definite 
knowledge concerning the breeding of new 
types and varieties. Recent investigation shows 
that a certain amount of inbreeding with careful 
selection is beneficial in plant life. It is this 
which has established every new type. Con- 
stant inbreeding in dahlias, however, is a waste 
of time. Poor keeping qualities of root systems 



Breeding 63 

are traceable to inbreeding — roots which are 
slender and fibrous, and which unnecessarily 
dry out quickly. Pendulous flower heads due 
to weak stems, shy blooming varieties — all have 
related parentage. The European varieties of 
incurved cactus dahlias have had all these 
defects, but lately fresh blood has been added 
and the newer ones are as vigorous and free as 
any one could wish. When we want to improve 
the stem, colour, root systems, or any defect in a 
given variety, we must give it the strength of an 
entirely different type. Many breeders go back 
to the original Juarezii or some of the wild 
dahlias of the mountains. It takes several 
generations to do this, and men have spent half 
a lifetime before they have satisfied their ambi- 
tions. 

Back in Mexico there are species of dahlias 
which have never been used in breeding. Think 
what possibilities are hidden in their pollen! 
In certain parts of Yucatan there are dahlias 
which are not herbaceous, but grow to be 
shrubs and even trees. The natives chop off 
branches and stick them into the ground, and 
they root as easily as a willow. One of these 
tree dahlias is called *'Imperialis" and now 
thrives in the warmer parts of our country where 
there is no frost. It is tall and slender in growth ; 



64 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

and late in November bears clusters of pure- 
white flowers on pendulous stems. Men in Cal- 
ifornia are trying to cross it with the herbaceous 
varieties in order to give it colour and erect 
stem. 

There is another variety, but newly dis- 
covered, of this tree type. It has an upright 
habit and bears aloft pink or white flowers of 
large size and good substance. Most are single, 
but some bear semi-double blooms. A great 
future has Dahlia Maxoni; and one of these 
days we may sit under its shade while the birds 
are singing in the branches ! Carolina, Georgia, 
southern Tennessee, and northern Alabama in 
the East; parts of Texas and southern Cali- 
fornia in the West will soon find these tree 
dahlias bearing double flowers of exquisite form 
and colour. But we must wait for the man 
or woman to learn the means of doing it. I 
doubt if ever the North will see a tree dahlia in 
bloom except under glass. 

Then there comes the matter of fragrance. 
A very few peony-type dahlias have a faint 
fragrance, slightly resembling that of a water 
lily. Their seedlings seldom do, though there 
is no reason why, by careful selection, the fourth 
or fifth generations of fragrant parents might 
not give a really perfumed flower. 



Breeding 65 

The dahlia is well named "Variabilis." It is 
unreliable to a greater extent than any other 
type of flower, and brazenly defies nearly all the 
laws of heredity. 

I wonder sometimes what conclusions the 
great Mendel would have come to had he begun 
his experiments with dahlias instead of peas. 

Unfortunately, of the thousands of beautiful 
varieties growing in our gardens there are 
practically no records which are of any real 
value. There are no "family -trees" to study! 

We know that the dominant form or colour 
persists in the seedlings, yet in the dahlia the 
blood of ten generations back will reappear most 
unexpectedly. I have fertilized a yellow dahlia 
with pollen from a pale pink, and one of the 
seedlings was scarlet. I have pollinated a 
blood-red dahlia with a scarlet, and have had a 
flower nearly white. I have placed the pollen 
of a hybrid cactus upon a peony and have had a 
decorative among the seedlings. 

The best we can do is to follow the tendency 
of the dominant colour or form. This law of 
Nature is simple but, like the French grammar 
of our school days, there are as many exceptions 
as there are rules ! 

My own experience has been that the pollen 
parent governs the size and form, and the 



66 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

seed parent controls the colour in more or less 
greater degree. Seedlings from a pale flower 
bear a majority of pale flowers and vice versa. 
I have spoiled many an experiment by placing 
pollen from a peony of fine colour upon a su- 
perbly formed cactus, hoping to keep the form 
and change the colour; but when I have turned 
about and placed the cactus pollen upon the 
peony, the percentage of good colour has been 
much higher, with better form and size. This 
rule is not borne out in other classes of flowers, 
and in dahlias has been far from infallible; but 
the large majority of my seed pods during the last 
fifteen years havebehaved themselves that way. 

The first generation plants from a fine seed par- 
ent seldom bear flowers equal in form and colour 
to either parent. Selecting the finest from the 
first generation and pollinating the flowers of 
that from some other very fine variety will often 
bring one or two seedlings surpassing either 
parent. If the second generation should fail, 
the third, through careful selection and wise 
pollinating, rarely does. At least there should be 
one fine plant. 

These flowers, however, may so closely re- 
semble a variety already on the market that after 
all the plant is worthless, and we must begin all 
over again. 



Breeding 67 

Many growers who have large acreage are not 
satisfied to wait so long, and prefer to use the 
pollen from the finest decorative and cactus 
varieties upon a fine open-centred peony flower. 
They tell me that about seventy -five per cent, or 
more of these seedlings will bear splendid cactus 
or decorative varieties, but out of ten thousand 
such there may be only one which is totally 
unlike any other dahlia grown. 

Among the cactus, decorative, and show va- 
rieties there are a number which, although forced 
to bloom an open-centred flower, bear pollen 
which is sterile, or at least which will not combine 
with the stigma of a selected variety. Their 
pistils, if they have any, refuse to accept the 
pollen of another, and so they never set seed. 
Such plants, I find, have strong, vigorous roots, 
and there is no need for nature to provide seeds. 

Working on this theory some years ago, I 
planted some roots of Delice and Gustav Dou- 
zon, both noted for their sterility, in boxes of 
rather poor soil, plunging the boxes in a hot, 
sunny part of the garden. This was done so 
that the roots could not expand. The plants 
grew slowly, and in August I gave them some 
nitrate of soda to stimulate the blooms. Delice 
gave three blooms, two of which were duplex, 
the third almost full, yet showing a centre. 



68 The Amateur s Booh of the Dahlia 

Gustave Douzon gave four blooms, only one of 
which would set seed. The seedlings of these 
(bee crossings) were of no value and were de- 
stroyed, yet their performance satisfied me that 
Nature tries to provide for the continuance of 
the species by one means if the other shows a 
possibility of failure. ' 

Nature's method of pollinating by means of 
bees and other insects is the surest way of get- 
ting the most seeds and the strongest plants. 
This is usually a jump in the dark, but Nature 
can be guided a little by planting side by side the 
varieties desired to be crossed. Further than 
that, flowers can sometimes be tied to face each 
other closely. Bees will naturally dance from 
one to the other with their burden of pollen, 
and the wind will carry it also. 

Nevertheless, we cannot guard against the 
bees and the wind bringing undesirable pollen 
as well. Unfortunately, undesirable pollen often 
is more effective with the stigma than the 
pollen we prefer, and the resulting seedlings are 
disappointing. We must plant thousands of 
seedlings in order to get one which possesses 
all the qualities we desire — think of the labour ! 

Now let us study artificial poUenizing. Defi- 
nite results can never be depended upon with 
dahlias. They are mongrels and "blood will 



Breeding 69 

sometimes tell" even to the twentieth genera- 
tion. Albeit, 'tis a short cut to our destination. 

A little study and practice is necessary. Look 
at the blossom carefully^l is called, botanically, 
compositae. The yellow disk, if examined under 
a magnifying glass^- is- composed of dozens of 
little florets, each containing its pistil, or mother, 
and its surrounding five stamens, whose anthers 
bear the precious pollen destined to fertilize 
another flower. On the pistil sits the stigma, 
ready to receive and make use of the pollen which 
will create the fertile seeds. As each floret 
opens, the pistil pushes its way up through the 
case, forcing the anthers apart, carrying the 
pollen on its back which soon scatters or is 
carried elsewhere by the wind or on the backs 
of insects. Gradually the stigma on the pistil 
opens wide like a mouth, disclosing a hairy in- 
terior which will catch and hold the pollen re- 
ceived. The outer ring, or ray-florets, are usually 
only pistillate, and for that reason make the 
best seeds. They are the first to open and to 
become fertilized, and draw more strength from 
the plant in the process of ripening. This is 
especially so in the case of double flowers. 

Just before the mother flower, or seed bearer, 
breaks open, it should be covered with a large, 
light paper bag. Each day a row or ring of 



70 The Amateur s Book of the Dahlia 

florets will open and should be promptly polli- 
nated, and the bag replaced. 

Nature abhors self-pollination, and provides 
against it to a certain extent where Nature's 
methods are used. But Nature is not prepared 
against the interference of human beings in her 
private affairs ! Our big clumsy hands and the 
clumsy instruments we use are just as liable to 
tumble the pollen from the anthers of one of 
the florets upon its own pistil or the pistil of its 
twin sister. The resulting seedlings give nonde- 
script blooms, usually single and of bad colour. 

To obviate this, all pollen must be removed 
from the florets of the mother flower before com- 
mencing operations. 

The best method is to throw a fine jet of water 
directly upon the florets, which will wash all 
pollen away from the opened anthers and from 
the pistils on which any undesirable pollen may 
have fallen. It has been proven that pollen 
may lie upon the stigma for half an hour or more 
without taking effect. 

Examine the florets carefully with a magnify- 
ing glass to make sure that every grain is washed 
away, and then touch the surfaces with shreds 
of very absorbent blotting paper. This will 
take up all the superfluous moisture, and the 
stigma is ready for its application of pollen. 



Breeding 71 

The best instrument for depolHnating is a 
rubber bulb, such as is used for atomizers, into 
which has been inserted a tube of glass, metal, 
or hard rubber, and which when filled and 
pressed will throw a threadlike jet of water. 
One can purchase such an instrument all ready- 
made at a supply shop for dentists. We all 
know them — they need not be described! 

Two such bulbs and a small pail of clean water 
is ideal. One bulb, pressed and placed in the 
water, may be filling while the other is being 
used. 

The day before pollinating is to be done, the 
male parent (i. e., the flower from which the 
pollen is to be taken to fertilize the mother 
flower or seed bearer) should be cut from the 
plant, brought into the house, and placed in a 
vase of fresh water. Bees are early risers and 
their breakfast often consists of pollen from the 
finest blooms. Unless we get up before dawn, 
we must resort to this wiser method. 

Next morning the anthers will be full and 
fluffy with the golden powder which we need, 
and it is an easy matter to gather it upon some 
small receptacle — a watch glass seems to be the 
most convenient — with a soft camel's hair brush. 

Take it to the garden along with the rubber 
bulbs and the pail of water, and as soon as the 



72 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

mother flower has been depoUinated and dried, 
apply at once. Use a camel's hair brush which 
has been dipped in sugary water and pressed 
flat and smooth. The pollen is easily lifted from 
the watch glass and deposited upon the stigma. 
See that every part of each pistil is well coated 
with pollen, and bag the flower at once, so that 
no other pollen may reach it. Next day, and 
for two days more, this process may be repeated 
as each ring of florets expands in turn, if many 
seeds are needed. It may be necessary to cut 
a new pollen bearer each time as there is some 
doubt as to the fertility of the pollen, and the 
vitality of the resulting seed, if the flower stands 
long in water. Bag the flower each time and 
allow the bag to remain until the seed pod begins 
to form. Pull off the petals directly they begin 
to fade so that the seeds in the pod receive all 
the strength and vitality possible. 

If it should not be convenient to gather the 
pollen and apply with a brush, excellent results 
can be obtained by merely touching the two 
flowers together so that the pollen may be 
brushed off from one directly upon the other. 
This is difficult, however, if the pollen bearer 
is a full-petalled flower with the stamens deep 
in the centre, unless some of the central petals 
are carefully removed the day before. 



Breeding 73 

Either method should be used during the early- 
part of a bright sunny day before the flower feels 
the heat too much. 

If the weather following should be damp, the 
bag must be removed and risk taken as to un- 
desirable pollen. This is especially necessary if 
the flower has many petals and is liable to hold 
much moisture. Seeds will otherwise rot rather 
than ripen and it is better to risk a few undesir- 
able seeds rather than complete loss. 

Of all types to grow from seed, the most diffi- 
cult is the incurved cactus. A letter received a 
short time ago from one of the largest breeders 
of this type in England stated that out of nearly 
nine hundred seed pods fertilized during the 
previous season, only 350 seeds germinated. 
They are so inbred that they cannot reproduce. 

The anemone -flowered types are practically 
impossible to pollinate. The long tubes are too 
slender for us to reach with an instrument the 
tiny stigma. Some people have tried cutting 
them off, but the stigma seems to resent this 
from me and refuses to accept the pollen. It 
takes a long-tongued insect to reach in there, 
and even then they are not very successful. 

Seeds from flowers pollinated late in the season 
are the more satisfactory. They germinate 
better. The resulting plants are of finer con- 



,74 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

stitution and bear flowers of better colour and 
habit. 

The latter part of August is early enough to 
begin. Plants are then in their full strength 
and vigour and can put their best efforts into 
the development of the seed during September. 
Do not grow too many seed pods on one 
plant if you want flowers also. One or two is 
plenty. 

It is of greatest importance that the seed pod 
is protected from frost until it is quite ripe and 
dry. It is full of sap which feeds the seeds until 
they have achieved full development. Then 
the stem closes its "water pipe" so that no more 
need come from the reservoir down below, and 
becomes dark in colour. This is a signal that 
we may cut it and allow it to dry quickly in the 
sun if it does not dry fast enough on the plant 
itself — for it must dry quickly if the seeds are not 
to decay. If these green pods should become the 
slightest bit frosted, the seed is killed. 

Should frost threaten, and the pods are well 
filled out and of good size, they may be cut on a 
long stem and placed in a glass of water in the 
house. Keep them in a sunny window and 
change the water from time to time. The seeds 
which have developed fully will ripen and seem to 
have as much germinating power as though they 



Breeding 75 

had spent the entire time on the plant. I am 
incHned to think that seeds not fully developed 
at the time do not develop further. 

Seed pods may be tied in light paper bags in a 
dry place until a convenient time should come 
to clean them. Be sure to label them carefully 
with the names of both parents if they are hand- 
pollinized, giving the name of the seed bearer 
first. For instance, if the Dahlia ** Ballet Girl" 
is pollinated by "Mystery" the pod should be 
marked "Ballet Girl X Mystery" — or if vice 
versa, ' * Mystery X Ballet Girl . " If it is a chance 
seed pod (i. e., a bee crossing) only the name of 
the seed bearer can be written. 

Break the pod open on a flat white surface — 
the lid of a box is an excellent place as the edge 
keeps the seeds from being lost. You will no- 
tice that the seeds lie in the inner side of flakes, 
which are set in circles, just as the florets had 
grown. The seeds are attached to these flakes 
and in their wild state sail off with them on the 
wind, alighting some distance away where they 
may take root next year. The outer circle of 
seeds are the largest, though here and there in- 
side the pod a giant or two may be found. They 
should be about one half inch long, a dark gray 
in colour, a little curved, crisp, and clean edged, 
and having a slight plumpness. There will be 



76 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

many more in the pod, long and thin, the edges 
shghtly white, rather Hmp in substance. These 
are undeveloped seeds and will never germinate; 
the pollen applied was not acceptable, or condi- 
tions in one way or another did not allow them 
to develop. Throw them all away and save 
only what you know will grow. I have known 
pods to contain only such undeveloped seeds 
with the exception of but one; and this one has 
often grown to a plant of superlative value. 

At the present time California is so far ahead 
of any part of the world in the production of 
new varieties that our country should be very 
proud. Dahlias grow there as we can never 
hope to have them in the East. The climate 
is cool and the damp west winds bathe the 
foliage with that most necessary moisture. The 
soil, much of which is volcanic, seems to contain 
all the elements necessary for their growth. 
With such healthy flowers for parents, and a 
long season for the development of the seed, 
how can seedlings be otherwise but fine? 

This bit of California is not the whole state, 
by any means. It is only a strip along the 
coast some four hundred miles long, both north 
and south of the Golden Gate, and only a few 
miles wide. In some places, ten miles from the 
coast, dahlias will not grow, while close to the 



Breeding 77 

sea the fields are a blaze of colour. California 
is indeed the Promised Land for dahlias. 

On the south coast of England the climate is 
much the same, and two great hybridizers have 
their gardens there. The soil, though not of 
the substance of California, is rich in peat and 
sand, and these gardens are a mass of bloom all 
summer. 

The brains of the man with the camel's hair 
brush is the greatest factor of all. Where he 
dwells, whether here or there, the dahlia has its 
future. 

Do not plant the seeds too early. They 
germinate quickly and grow rapidly. The middle 
of April is time enough to place the seeds in 
flats. The flats should be kept in the cold 
frame or in a sunny window but shaded from the 
direct rays of the sun. Use a light loam mixed 
with well-rotted leaf mould or peat so that it 
cannot pack. Sow the seeds about an inch 
apart and cover lightly with about half an inch 
of soil. Water sparingly with a fine rose spray, 
and above all, keep the weeds out. 

Presently two little oblong leaves appear 
which widen as they grow, and then two more 
above. When the seedlings have acquired their 
third set of leaves, they should be pricked out 
into three-inch pots and grown as slowly as 



78 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

possible. Never let the fibrous roots become 
crowded in the pot. Shift to larger pots before 
this happens. By giving them plenty of root 
space and causing them to grow slowly above 
ground, the tubers will form early. Protect 
against the hot sun, but do not allow the air 
about the plants to become stagnant. Remove 
the shade as soon as the sun drops. 

An excellent shade for dahlias in the cold 
frame is a piece of the very coarsest and most 
open weave burlap, six feet wide and about 
eight feet long. Tack this at even distances 
upon three or four laths or strips of wood a few 
inches longer than the width of the burlap, and 
fasten a heavier strip of wood at each end. The 
laths will lie across the cold frame, holding the 
burlap in place so it will not sag. When not in 
use, it can be rolled up into a small bundle and 
laid beside the frame. 

By the end of May the plants will be large 
enough to be set out in the garden. They may 
be planted in exactly the same manner as plants 
made from cuttings, and cultivated like any 
dahlia. It is not necessary, however, to plant 
them more than two feet apart. There are 
always "rogues" to pull up as soon as the first 
bloom opens, leaving plenty of room between 
the plants for full development. 



Breeding 79 

There is no doubt that giving a seedhng the 
best of soil and good culture helps materially to 
establish it the first year. If a promising seed- 
ling is grown like a prize variety, the result is 
100 per cent, better than if given the half-hearted 
cultivation that most seedlings get. 

In my own experience, if a seedling is given 
the best cultivation in its first year, the second 
and third year will find it exactly like the first. 
All that is left to do is to plant it in other soils 
and climates to see how it will behave. Both 
have their effect on stem as well as on colour, 
and as weather may vary each season, never 
condemn a seedling if it behaves badly during 
its first summer in a new locality. A second 
trial may show it in its true light. 

The dahlia as a species of herbaceous peren- 
nial is undoubtedly in its early stages. It is 
therefore unstable and can be moulded into 
almost any shape or form as by a potter's wheel. 
From the smallest Mignon or Tom Thumb 
types to the massive hybrid cactus is but a few 
steps. Therein lies the fascination which keeps 
us striving for new and better ones each year. 



CHAPTER VII 

CULTIVATION — PLANTING, STAKING, AND FER- 
TILIZING 

THE time for planting dahlias must be con- 
trolled by climate and the use for which the 
blooms are needed. On the Pacific Coast tu- 
bers are set in place in mid-April, sometimes 
even earlier. Green plants are set out during 
May and June according to the habits of certain 
varieties and their behaviour at the end of the 
season. The growing season in that wonderful 
part of our country covers a period of eight or 
nine months. Some of the early blooming 
varieties would be past their prime when needed 
for exhibition purposes in September unless 
plants are set out much later than those of 
slower growth. This is true anywhere, of 
course, and should always be taken into con- 
sideration when dahlias are planted; but where- 
ever the growing season is long, a careful study 
of the habit of the variety is of greatest im- 
portance. In an even climate like that of 
California this is about the only question which 

80 



Planting^ Staking y and Fertilizing 81 

controls the time of planting. In the East there 
is another factor which is so uncertain and yet so 
important that the subject is still open to much 
discussion. The advice given by growers to 
prospective purchasers, as published in their 
catalogues, is contradictory and confusing, and 
only a clear understanding of these conditions 
can help the beginner to work out his own 
salvation. 

In our climate, that of the Central Eastern 
States, there comes a time, the latter part of 
June and early July, when all the world seems 
parched and gasping in the heat. We may soak 
the roots and spray the leaves of our precious 
plants, but the merciless sun will play havoc with 
them if they have already reached any size. The 
leaves blister and curl; their pores close and can 
no longer draw any nourishment from the air. 
The stems become stiff and woody and the sap 
cannot flow evenly through them. Growth is 
checked; and though when conditions improve 
it tries to start again, the new leaves are small 
and numerous and no flowers can develop. The 
only thing to be done at this time is to cut the 
plant back at least two thirds of the way; or, if a 
secondary sprout has appeared from the root, 
cut the old plant out altogether. This delays 
the blooming time two or three weeks, but there 



82 The Amateur'' s Booh of the Dahlia 

is no choice if any flowers at all are to be ex- 
pected. 

Two seasons have gone by when no such 
situation developed. June was cool and rainy. 
July was hot — and rainy. August was rainy. 
Dahlias set out at all times did equally well, and 
the unusually fine crop of blooms over a pro- 
longed season did much to work up dahlia en- 
thusiasm to the highest pitch. 

But the drought of the past summer (1921) 
caught many gardens napping. Plants which 
had started early were rattling like a bag of 
bones by mid-August, and many a beginner be- 
came deeply discouraged. 

My own method is to begin planting the 
tubers of slow-growing varieties about May 
20th, adding from time to time the others ac- 
cording to their habits known to me. Half the 
tubers of each variety whose habits I have still to 
learn are planted early and the rest late, for ob- 
servation. Plants are set out during June, dating 
according to the length of time the variety takes 
to begin its bloom — even early July is not too 
late for some. Plants of Gertrude Dahl, set out 
in my garden the first week in August, pro- 
duced blooms which won first prizes in a show 
on October 3rd. I do not recommend such late 
planting, however, where one desires roots for 



Planting, Staking, and Fertilizing 83 

wintering over. The bushes are hurried in their 
growth and blooms are forced before tubers of 
sufficient size are developed — and there is noth- 
ing left to "carry on." 

I have found that dahlia plants when six to 
twelve inches high can withstand the heat and 
drought of June far better than those of larger 
size and active growth. They can quickly as- 
similate the water given them and with fewer 
and smaller leaves to support do not suffocate 
so easily. They soon catch up after the thun- 
derstorms of July and August commence, and 
by September, when dahlias can give the needed 
colour in the garden and when the blooms are 
desired for the shows, the plants are in their full 
glory. 

In the New England States and northward 
there is still another condition which controls 
planting time. There the growing season covers 
but four months or less. Spring frosts may be 
expected up to early June, and the killing frosts 
come in mid-September. No serious heat and 
drought may be expected during the summer, so 
that in order to produce flowers in August and 
early September an early start is necessary. 

Just as young dahlia plants can better with- 
stand heat and drought, so can they better 
withstand light frosts. Little plants six or eight 



84 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

inches high do not suffer at all if the mercury 
shows 30° for a night or two in succession. The 
tubers are potted in light soil early in May, 
placed in a cold frame, and allowed to grow 
slowly until proper planting time. Care should 
be exercised, when shifting the plants from the 
pots to the open ground, to disturb the young 
fibrous roots as little as possible. Plants made 
from cuttings may be set out at the same time 
as the tubers instead of later. In that cool 
climate the bushes must be hurried into bloom 
rather than be held back, as is necessary farther 
south, and everything short of actual forcing 
should be done to that end. 

Unless dahlia roots are stored under ideal con- 
ditions, it is very difficult to keep them from 
starting into growth long before it is time to 
plant them. I find that separating the tubers 
will check their ambition somewhat, but after 
separating they should be buried deep in cool 
sand until planting time. If they persist in 
sprouting, the young shoots may be cut back to 
within an inch of the tuber. Never break a 
shoot off unless there is another eye to take its 
place — ^for nothing more will grow from the 
wound. 

Late in the winter when instinct (and the 
deluge of catalogues) stirs that indescribable 



Planting, Staking, and Fertilizing 85 

something within, and tells us that spring is 
near, I make my planting scheme for the dahlia 
garden. The list of roots which I had put to 
bed in the storeroom three months ago is divided 
into six colour classes : red, orange, yellow, pink, 
white, and lavender. Lavender even on my list 
is separated from the other colours by white. 
To this list I add those which I have purchased 
and those which my friends have given me. 
Then on a rough map of the garden I arrange 
the colours and, after studying their heights and 
habits, place the named varieties. 

At our leisure, long before planting time, the 
stakes are put in place ; and since the soil is al- 
ready prepared, all is plain sailing when the time 
comes to put the dahlias in. My dahlias grow 
tall. I do not pinch them out, as do nursery- 
men, to avoid staking. I like to cut blooms with 
stems three or four feet long that they may be 
held aloft with the grace and dignity they deserve. 
To this end staking is absolutely necessary. 

Buy from a local dealer 2x2 rough lumber in 
twelve foot lengths — of chestnut, if possible. 
Cut these lengths in half and point one end of 
each. Paint them with a dark green or brown 
creosote stain, and dip the pointed end into 
eighteen or more inches of heavy tar paint. At 
about six inches from the top of each stake drive 



86 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

in a strong galvanized staple. This is to hold 
the label bearing the name of the variety of dah- 
lia planted at its foot. Chestnut is tough, and 
is cheap in most localities; the creosote stain, if 
applied each year, protects against the weather; 
and the tar guards against rot in the ground. 
Such stakes will last five years or more, are quite 
inconspicuous when the dark stain is used, and 
are strong enough to hold the plants against 
severe gales. 

Another method of staking when plants do 
not grow to great height is by means of ordinary 
wooden laths. Two are tied together at one 
end and again about ten inches below. The 
other ends are pointed, separated, and forced ten 
inches into the ground on either side of the 
young plant. The farther the laths are sepa- 
rated, the better is the central stalk thus sup- 
ported until it reaches sufficient height to be 
tied where the two laths have been fastened to- 
gether. This is the cheapest method which is 
successful, but unless long and heavy laths can 
be procured, is not sufficiently strong to support 
the taller varieties. 

Stakes should be placed no less than three 
feet apart. Some varieties of dahlias are so 
spreading in habit that four or five feet are 
required to give them proper space to develop. 



Planting, Staking, and Fertilizing 87 

In early spring, when the bare brown earth is 
so scantily dotted with the stakes, and the tiny 
green shoots look so frail, it seems incredible 
that it is necessary to set them out so far apart. 
One year's experience, however, will teach any 
one to measure those three feet carefully, adding 
a few inches just for good measure. 

Everywhere in our hot, dry climate dahlias 
should be planted deep. Dig a hole close to the 
stake at least eight inches down. Let there be 
no manure or fertilizer where the tuber is to go, 
and if it is a delicate one, place a little extra sand 
at the bottom for drainage. Lay the tuber in 
a horizontal position; with the eye or shoot fac- 
ing up and as close to the stake as possible, 
scattering lightly over it enough soil to cover an 
inch or two deep. All dahlia tubers in a clump 
radiate horizontally from the main stalk, and 
this demand from the tuber at planting time 
must be complied with or there will be no bush. 

If the eye faces downward when planted, the 
shoot will grow just the same, and Nature tells 
it to turn around, doubling upward to reach the 
air. It makes little or no difference in the re- 
sulting plant so far as the following summer is 
concerned, but after digging the clump one 
readily sees trouble ahead when the time comes 
to separate the tubers. The stalk has twisted 



88 The Amateur^s Booh of the Dahlia 

U-shape; the tubers have started from all parts 
of it, and the whole resembles the tangled hank 
of yarn which the unfortunate Princess had been 



\ 




Tuber planted properly. Dotted line shows depression when 
first planted; to be levelled later 

ordered by the Wicked Stepmother to undo with- 
out breaking. 

Planting the eye close to the stake makes the 
training of the stalk much simpler, for it can 
more easily be tied without straining, and is 
held more rigidly. The new tubers in growing 
surround the stake, and thus stake and plant 
become almost one. 



Planting^ Staking, and Fertilizing 89 

Sometimes tubers have been left lying about 
for a week or two after dividing, for lack of time 
to put them in the ground. If they were not 
protected from the air they will have shrivelled; 
and the eye, no matter how healthy, will have 
great difficulty in making growth. Sometimes 
they will grow a few inches and then stop. 
Tubers from plants which had grown rapidly 
the year before are especially liable to shrivel 
under such circumstances. If there is any 
question as to their appearance soak them in a 
pail of cold water for from twenty-four to forty- 
eight hours. They will not necessarily swell, 
but the water will get in between the fibres of 
the tubers, and a fine plant will be the result. 

Do not press the soil down upon a tuber. If 
it is dry pour a little water in to tuck it around 
the tuber just enough. The warmth of the sun 
penetrates the shallow covering and starts the 
tuber into growth. The loose and friable soil 
allows the young roots to work their way through 
without great effort, and new tubers form almost 
at once. As the shoot grows upward more soil 
may be filled in until the ground is level. Never 
hill a dahlia plant. If planted seven or eight 
inches deep the roots keep cool and moist during 
the summer. Hilling acts as a shed for the 
water and does more harm than good. 



90 The Amateur s Book of the Dahlia 

When the Httle green dahha plants are set out, 
the holes must be dug at least eight inches deep, 
and after knocking the roots from the pots, they 
should be set as close to the stake as possible. 
Gently firm the soil around the roots, adding 
about an inch of earth over the level of the potted 
soil, and water thoroughly. Trim off any leaves 
which may touch the ground and gradually fill 
in as it grows taller, until again the ground is 
level. This ensures a deep rooting system, one 
of the secrets of success in dahlia culture. 

When the young plants grow to about fifteen 
inches in height they should be tied loosely to 
the stakes. At this time the stems are barely 
the thickness of a pencil and one is tempted to tie 
the string with the idea of giving the plant sup- 
port. Unless the plant has grown rapidly and 
become "leggy," actual support at that time 
is hardly necessary. The string should be tied 
very loosely about ten inches from the ground, 
bearing in mind that the slender stalk will some- 
times become six or more inches in circumfer- 
ence. The plants are easily reached at this 
time; and later, when they grow large and are 
again tied further up, these lower supports hold 
the main trunk firmly in place. The bushes 
cannot swing about with the leverage they would 
otherwise have, and thus the tissues run less 



Planting^ Staking , and Fertilizing 91 

risk of being strained during a high wind. Heavy 
plants should have the main trunk tied every 
two feet or less, and every main branch should 
be supported from the stake. The joints are 
brittle and gales whip them off readily if they are 
not tied. 

Soft string, such as is used for tomato vines, 
etc., is most often used for dahlias, but each 
year I find myself rummaging through the attic 
in search of old curtains, old clothes, old anything 
of cotton. These I tear into strips three quar- 
ters of an inch wide (more or less, according to 
the strength of the material), and with them 
always tie my most valuable dahlias. Such strips 
can never cut or chafe the stems, and will last 
at least one season and sometimes two. 

Some of the more spreading varieties it may 
be necessary to stake again. The ordinary com- 
mercial stakes will do well enough for this pur- 
pose, for they have little weight to bear. They 
may be set two feet away from the main stalk 
and the branches fastened at the angle desired 
for them to grow. 

Such staking and tying sound laborious. The 
commercial grower will tell you to pinch out the 
centre of the stalk, forcing the plant to form 
many branches near the ground, thus overcom- 
ing the necessity of any stake at all. This method 



92 The Amateur^ s Boole of the Dahlia 

is all very well if roots are wanted. It is also 
excellent for growing large flowers on short 
stems. For a generation or more our dahlia 
shows have become a veritable nightmare by 
virtue of such blooms, cut with stems but a few 
inches long and placed in tumblers or even small 
milk bottles. Rows on rows of the poor mar- 
tyred blossoms are placed on tables, arranged 
irrespective of colour and form, and turning 
what should be a fairyland into an eyesore. 

Dahlias are the most beautiful of all flowers 
and should be treated with respect. If they are 
wanted as a garden flower let them grow as Na- 
ture wants them to grow — tall and stately. If 
they are wanted as cut flowers to grace my lady's 
boudoir, can any one wish to see the great digni- 
fied blooms humbled to stand in a short-stemmed 
vase? At an exhibition one cannot wish for a 
more glorious sight than a vase of any modern 
variety of dahlias holding their heads aloft on 
three- and four-foot stems. So let them grow 
tall and stake them, thereby making your gar- 
den a pleasure and your house a joy. 

There are two varieties of dahlias which may 
be improved by pinching back. These are the 
Pompon and Mignon types and are useful for 
planting at the front of the dahlia beds. The 
latter are covered with blooms at all times; and. 




The informal freedom of the Duplex has an 
individual attraction 



Planting, Staking, and Fertilizing 93 

made into low compact bushes, need not be 
planted more than eighteen inches apart. The 
Pompons, in spite of pinching, are always taller 
than the Mignons — and, planted two feet apart 
behind the Mignons, make an excellent interme- 
diary between them and the tall ones. 

Since the beds have already been prepared 
with leaf mould and bonemeal, no fertilizer 
should be added at planting time. If any 
manure has been dug in to make a sandy soil 
more compact, greatest care should be ex- 
ercised not to allow any of it to come in contact 
with a newly planted tuber or the roots of a 
young plant. As the little fibres expand they 
will reach the plant food soon enough. 

Some growers mulch their dahlias with strawy 
manure just before they reach the blooming 
period. The manure leaches downward with the 
action of the rain or artificial watering, slowly 
feeding the roots. The straw shelters the soil 
and keeps it from drying out. This does fairly 
well on a light sandy soil, but such mulch should 
never be allowed close to the main stalk. The 
wet straw "steams," and suddenly the whole 
plant droops. Rot has started in the stalk, 
and nothing can save it after the tissues have 
been destroyed. 

I have found that regular cultivation is mulch 



94 The Amateur s Book of the Dahlia 

enough when the plants have been deeply rooted, 
and that intelligent and systematic feeding will 
produce the finest results. 

The bonemeal, having decayed during the 
winter, is being assimilated by the young roots as 
they grow. It gives the whole plant vigour and a 
sturdy constitution. This, with the leaf mould, 
is all the actual plant food needed in the soil. 

However, if we wish specially fine blooms for 
shows, for home decoration, or a mass of colour 
for garden effect, the dahlias must be stimulated 
to do their utmost — they must have a tonic. 

In the middle of August — about six weeks 
before the dahlia shows commence — a small 
quantity of sheep or hen manure is given to each 
plant, governed according to its individual need. 
Hen manure should be used fresh and mixed with 
a nearly equal amount of sand before applying. 

Draw the soil away from the roots, making a 
basin about four inches deep and fifteen inches 
across. Into this scatter one half a trowelful 
of pulverized sheep manure, or double the 
quantity of hen manure when mixed with sand. 
Pour very slowly over this a large bucketful of 
water and allow it to soak. When the water 
has disappeared, a second bucketful may be 
poured in; and later the dry soil is replaced in 
the basin to act as a mulch. The water carries 



Planting, Staking, and Fertilizing 95 

tTie fertilizer down where the roots can reach 
them, and in a fortnight a noticeable difference 
may be found in the appearance of the plant. 
New soft growth has started from the main 
branches; the leaves are a luscious, vivid green, 
and flower buds soon appear on the terminals. 

Sheep manure and hen manure are strong in 
nitrates, acting as a stimulus only. They produce 
vigorous growth of stem and foliage, help the 
blooms achieve great size, and in sweetening 
the soil through alkaline reaction, add strength 
to their colour. By hastening the growth of 
stem before the blooms expand, the fibres are 
weakened and unable to support the added 
weight of extra size. 

Such vigorous top growth must naturally be 
at expense of the roots, and if allowed too much 
such stimulus there will be little or nothing left 
to carry over winter. Unless the plants show 
buds it is best to hold back any fertilizer, for 
otherwise there will be a tendency to go to leaf 
altogether. 

One such dressing is usually sufficient. Here 
and there may be a backward plant which, 
though having splendid roots, seems to be de- 
veloping slowly above ground. Such plants may 
have with safety a second dose about a fortnight 
later. 



96 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

Soot from the chimneys where wood or soft 
coal has been burned, added at the time the 
sheep manure is put in — about a handful of this, 
not more, to each plant — will give brilliancy of 
colour to the pink, red, or yellow ones. Do not 
give any to lavender dahlias, for they will turn 
magenta; or to the white ones, for they will not 
remain pure white. If you live in a steam -heated 
house and have no open fireplaces, you must in- 
vest in Scotch Soot, which may be bought at a 
seedsman's shop. 

Chemical fertilizers are not to be recommended 
for dahlias. The ingredients are all too con- 
centrated to come in contact with the roots, 
and if scattered on the surface to be washed in 
by rain, the action is too uncertain to give satis- 
faction. Nitrate of soda is often given in place 
of the sheep-manure tonic, but in my own ex- 
perience the results have not been so satisfactory. 
There is no doubt that it weakens the vitality of 
the tubers, and the next year's growth is poor and 
weak. 

Fertilizers mixed with the soil serve two 
purposes. They either add plant food which is 
immediately assimilated by the roots; or they 
cause a change in the chemical composition, set- 
ting free and making available plant food which 
is already in the soil. 



CHAPTER VIII 

CULTIVATING, WATERING, DISBRANCHING, DIS- 
BUDDING — DAHLIAS IN TUBS 

HOT weather has come. Plants and tubers 
are all set out, and we must watch the 
babies with tender care. If a drought has 
started, each may have a good drink of water — 
a gallon or two to each plant just once, and a 
mulch of loose, dry soil afterward. 

From then on the hoe or cultivator should be 
used regularly. Not a weed must be allowed 
to poke its nose out. All the precious moisture 
should be conserved down deep where it is 
needed. Keep the soil loose and friable so that 
the young roots may push their way in any 
direction they choose. Use a five-pronged cul- 
tivator, and with it, during June and early July, 
dig deep. After that the tubers begin to swell, 
and if the fork should damage them the plant 
is seriously injured — seldom recovering its full 
strength again. At this time the fork need only 
go in two or three inches, loosening the soil, to 
destroy the weeds and mulch the roots. The 

97 



98 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

cultivator should be used shortly after every 
rainfall, or Old Sol will draw out all the moisture 
through the surface crust formed by the beating 
of the raindrops. 

If rain does not come and the plants do not 
recover after the day's heat, artificial means must 
be resorted to. 

When watering dahlias, water thoroughly. 
Soak the soil to the depth of a foot at least. If a 
little watering is done every day the soil where 
the tubers are growing is left dry, and the roots 
must climb to the surface to obtain their drink. 
Such watering is a great labour and does not 
produce good plants. Further cultivation dis- 
turbs these surface roots and may result in seri- 
ous damage. If the soil is well moistened di- 
rectly around the tubers, watering need not be 
repeated for another week or ten days even in the 
driest weather. Cultivation, of course, should 
immediately follow each watering. 

There are several methods recommended in 
watering dahlias. I have seen irrigation practised 
in the East with excellent effect. One of my 
neighbours plants his dahlias in long rows — some- 
times straight and sometimes curved, according 
to the contour of the beds. He digs a little 
trench a couple of inches deep close to his row of 
dahlias — about six inches from the stalks — and 



Cultivating 99 

places the end of the hose (no nozzle, mind you !) 
at one end. The trench is shallower at the near 
end than at the other, if the ground is level, and 
is quickly made by scraping along the ground 
with a pointed spade. The water flows evenly 
along for half an hour or more, gradually soaking 
into the soil as it goes; and when enough water 
has been given, the plants are cultivated. After 
that the hose is turned upon the plants them- 
selves with a nozzle screwed down to the finest 
spray, for the leaves must also have their drink 
and be refreshed. 

I fear me mine might be called the lazy man's 
method, but the result is so satisfactory that I 
have come to think it is the better way. About 
three o'clock in the afternoon, when the dahlias 
are in shade, the hose is brought out and a simple 
ring sprinkler is attached to it and placed in 
a central position. With an ordinary force of 
water, a fine spray is thrown in a radius of 
twenty -five feet or more. This is left in posi- 
tion — maybe forgotten during the rush of other 
work — imtil the gardener goes to his supper. 
He moves it to another place, and three hours 
later either he or I will shut it off. Many an 
evening have I moved it again at eight o'clock, 
and crept down in the dark to shut off the water 
just before bedtime! 



100 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

Next day this is repeated in other parts of the 
garden while the soil about the roots of the 
dahlias watered the day before is being culti- 
vated. 

This is Nature's way; and Mother Nature 
knows what is good for her children. By morn- 
ing the thirsty flowers have drunk their fill and 
surplus moisture is evaporated enough not to 
scald when the sun's hot rays touch them. One 
soaking is usually enough, but if drought con- 
tinues longer than usual, another such soaking 
may be necessary a week or ten days later. In 
our hot New Jersey climate there is no blessed 
dew to refresh the tired flowers at night, and 
he who is fortunate enough to possess one of the 
many systems of "overhead watering" should 
turn it on for five minutes or so just at dusk. 
This "overhead" system replaces, of course, 
the garden hose and sprinkler, but it is an un- 
sightly thing and should only be used where 
dahlias are grown for cut flowers only. 

The second great secret of success with dahlias 
is — cultivate often. Watering is only an inci- 
dent and should never be resorted to unless ab- 
solutely necessary. 

Then summer comes at last. Sun and % rain 
have caused the tiny plants to grow apace and 
almost over night become small trees. Leaf 



Cultivating 101 

and branch are rich and green. The stakes are 
now quite hidden, but — where are the flowers? 

If the weather is hot, be thankful that there 
are no flowers. Up to the middle of August let 
there be no flowers. If they want to come be 
heartless and cut off the buds just as soon as they 
appear. Maybe your neighbour's dahlias are a 
blaze of colour and he leans across the fence and 
relates with pride how on June 30th he cut a 
blossom eight inches across. He looks with 
scorn upon your green bushes, and as you listen 
to his tale you feel very humble indeed. 

But he who laughs best laughs last. Your 
neighbour has had a good crop at first, but each 
week the blossoms open smaller and smaller. 
September comes, and with cooler weather 
flowers open more slowly. Leaves and branches 
grow, but colour becomes less and less ; and when 
he again hangs over your fence, it is with an 
envious rather than a scornful eye. Your gar- 
den is a glorious mass of bloom when there is 
little to see in his, and your dahlias are winning 
prizes at the shows when he has nothing to 
send. 

There is much to be done before any appear, 
if perfect blooms are wanted. There must not 
be too many branches from the main stalk. 
Eight or ten of these are enough, and the main 



102 The Amateur s Booh of the Dahlia 

branches should not be allowed too many second- 
ary branches at a time. 

Study each dahlia plant and watch its habit 
of growth. The branches always come in pairs, 
opposite one another. One is usually longer 
and stronger than the other, and sometimes the 
smaller is so tiny that it is hardly noticeable. 
The little ones are only waiting until they are 
needed, and may remain there for such an 
emergency. If more than the desired number 
of branches are found, break off one from each 
pair, alternating, if possible, to balance the plant. 
Be sure that they are well supported from the 
stake, as with the added vigour which the plants 
may now give them they will grow rapidly and 
shortly bear enormous flowers. Naturally, the 
earlier this is done, the better, as just so much 
more strength and vigour has been conserved for 
future blossoms. 

Just as the stalk should carry a limited number 
of branches, so also should the secondary 
branches not be allowed to crowd. These are 
destined to bear the perfect blossoms which will 
win laurels at the shows. Some varieties will 
rebranch at every joint, and if their ambition 
is not promptly checked, the plant will be but a 
compact bush without bud or flower. 

Break off one from each pair of such shoots — 



Cultivating 103 

for these, like the others, come also in pairs. 
Remember that there should be plenty of 
ventilation among the leaves, so plan to allow 
only shoots which will grow outward to remain. 

If flower buds form early in the summer the 
stalk should be cut back at least halfway. No 
harm done! Two shoots start vigorously from 
the last joint left, and in due course of time will 
reward you for your care. 

About the middle of August is time enough 
to let the flowers have their way unless the plant 
is destined to make a special effort for some show. 

The uncertainty of weather is a big factor at 
this time. With a normal amount of rainfall, 
moderate heat followed by a few cool days, the 
average dahlia will produce a magnificent bloom 
four weeks after the tiny bud is visible. Greater 
heat and stimulating fertilizers will produce 
flowers more quickly, while cool dry weather will 
hold the buds back as long as it lasts. Taking 
all this into account, I always stop entire dis- 
budding on August 15th, and begin disbudding 
for bloom at once. 

Each flower stalk soon shows three or more 
terminal flower buds. When they are about 
the size of peas, all but one should be removed, 
saving, if possible, the central bud. Any of the 
buds will develop well, but only the central bud 



104 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

Is certain to make a straight stem. The others 
are Uable to grow outward at the angle at which 
they had started. Such buds, however, must 
be used if for any cause the central bud has been 
blighted. I have been able to train the bud to 
grow straight by the use of a waxed paper 
lemonade-straw opened lengthwise put on as a 
splint, and tied with fine thread. This process, 
however, is so laborious and so often unsatis- 
factory that I have given it up, preferring to rely 
on another blooming stalk. 

Before the flower opens there appear at the 
joints of the stem numerous little shoots, which 
divert the strength intended for the bloom. 
Break off each one carefully as soon as they ap- 
pear, down to, but not including, the last joint 
next the main branch. They snap off easily 
next the stem. This last joint should be allowed 
to remain when the flower is cut, and soon after 
throws out two new blooming stalks. These may 
in turn be treated in the same manner as the 
original. 

If left, these little shoots form flower buds 
and the stem will carry a spray of insignificant 
blossoms in various stages, rather than the 
large, dignified, and perfectly formed bloom 
which is a joy to behold. 

This disbudding should be done every day if 




yMx- 



Dahlia branch showing crotch bloom already disbudded. Side 
branches need disbudding 



105 



106 The Amateur's Boole of the Dahlia 

exhibition blooms are wanted — indeed, twice a 
day is better if one has the time, for during the 
height of the blooming season the side shoots will 
appear in two or three hours. The smaller they 
are when broken or "rubbed" off, the better. So 
much more strength is saved for size and beauty 
of the terminal bloom. 

Though the plants are exacting, the work is 
anything but drudgery. It takes but an hour a 
day, and sometimes less, to go over my 500 plants. 
Each bud becomes an intimate friend as I watch 
it develop day by day ; and the satisfaction when 
I cut the perfect bloom, opened to its fullest 
glory, is the satisfaction of one who has finished 
a beautiful painting. 

One day not long ago some friends motored out 
from town to see the dahlias. Of course, they 
found me among them, up a stepladder, dis- 
budding some of the tall ones. When I showed 
them how it was done they chorused ''Oh! let 
me try!" — which they did. I was called to the 
telephone. Then other visitors came and had to 
be shown around. I had almost forgotten my 
first guests for nearly an hour, but when I re- 
turned to them, there they were disbudding 
with all the keen interest of professionals. The 
thought of Tom Sawyer and the whitewashed 
fence came to my mind. The work was fun! 



Cultivating 107 

Some dahlias are low in growth and all parts 
are easily reached. There are some, however, 
which seem to possess the blood of Jack's Bean- 
stalk. The English Joffre and Mrs. Lymberry's 
Ballet Girl, for instance, climb skyward in what- 
ever kind of soil I use. One August morning on 
a return from a ten-day absence I found Ballet 
Girl had achieved a height of fifteen feet. Had a 
storm come at that time she would have whirled 
completely out of sight. The trunk at a height 
of five feet was too heavy for my pruning shears 
and I had to call for man's strength and a heavy 
knife. We cut her down more than halfway, and 
by mid-September she had climbed again, and 
dancing in mid-air were hundreds of fluffy blooms 
for all the world like little tulle petticoats. 

Naturally, disbudding such gigantic plants is 
more or less an acrobatic feat. Stepladders are 
dangerous things to set on the soft earth unless 
planks are placed under the feet. The most 
convenient step to use for this purpose is a tall 
wooden box. We cut a slit in the bottom four 
to six inches long and an inch or so wide — just big 
enough to slip the fingers in and grasp the box. 
Two or three such boxes are in among the plants 
in my garden, always at hand to step upon when 
needed, and the ladder is only resorted to when 
absolutely necessary. 



108 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

At this time we realize the necessity of three 
or four feet of space. Sometimes it is almost 
impossible to pass between the plants — and woe 
to any woman with vanity enough to wear a 
hairnet ! 

Disbudding vigorously serves many purposes. 
It increases the size, of course; but what is far 
more important, it brings strength to the stem, 
substance to the petals, and perfection in the 
flower's form. The beauty of a dahlia is not 
enhanced by size, except in a very few cases. 
True, size produces a thrill — just as an amazing 
circus feat will thrill. I have seen men stand 
speechless before a twelve-inch bloom of Kalif, 
marvelling at the size and colour. I have never 
seen a woman do so, but I have never seen a 
man or woman in my garden who has not been 
drawn to a bed of Mme. Annette Reynault as by 
a magnet. The grace and beauty of that in- 
describable little blossom never fails to give the 
greatest pleasure. The French know what is 
beautiful in flowers, yet seldom are their dahlia 
creations large. 

Some dahlias need to be large to hold their 
dignity, but no beauty is gained by turning them 
into monstrosities. This is easily done by 
throwing the whole strength of the plant into one 
flower. Take Pierrot and Stredwick's Melody, 



Cultivating 109 

for instance. A tall vase of six-inch blooms is 
more beautiful than a great twelve-inch bloom, so 
heavy that it cannot hold up its head. Is King of 
the Autumn more beautiful when twice the size.^ 

The evolution of the modern chrysanthemum 
shows us what goes on in the minds of flower 
lovers. A few years ago the 'mum shows were 
filled with the gigantic blooms at which we 
always marvelled, but which down deep in our 
hearts we did not covet — and never loved. Now 
the small-flowering varieties of branching habit 
predominate. They are human and lovable and 
appeal to everyone. 

So it will be with the dahlia. At present the 
points in competition at the shows give a large 
percentage to size, but it will not be long before 
we in America appreciate that the dahlia as a 
garden and a cut flower cannot be surpassed; 
that extra size only tends toward coarseness 
and insolence in a flower which is really the 
aristocrat among all others, and where refine- 
ment should predominate. 

Such disbudding as is here described should be 
applied to the heavier types of cactus, hybrid 
cactus, decorative, and some varieties of peony- 
flowered dahlias. There are others, like the 
pompon, most singles, and anemone-flowered, 
the *'star" types and some of the smaller cactus 



110 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

which are just as well left alone. Disbranching 
these varieties, however, is all the more im- 
portant, for the flower stalks will crowd if too 
many branches are left. 

Dahlias, like people, sometimes get cranky. 
They will grow almost out of hand, luscious in 
leaf and stem, refusing to flower; or they stand 
still and refuse to grow at all, stolidly remaining 
the same height all summer. The treatment for 
both is the same — cut them back. In July they 
may be cut almost to the ground, leaving only a 
shoot or two to develop. In some cases the tall 
plant may be pruned out, like a rose, leaving 
only a few branches, and these severely dis- 
budded. Blooming thereby is not delayed, and 
if the time is short it is the better way. Such 
plants, however, are liable to look unsightly in the 
flower garden as their shape has been destroyed. 
These tall plants need no further encouragement, 
but burst into bloom almost at once. 

Not so the little one. Many things may have 
caused his trouble — impoverished soil, sun blight, 
insect pests, or disease. In any case, however, 
cut them back. The impoverished soil must be 
remedied. If the tubers are well formed, ni- 
trates may be added in the form of hen manure 
or sheep manure, or even nitrate of soda. If 
quick action is wanted, use manure water. Place 



Cultivating 111 

a few spadefuls of manure into a burlap bag, 
and after tying securely, plunge into a barrel 
half filled with very hot water. In a few days or 
a week the liquid may be poured over the roots of 
the plant. Be sure that the soil is already moist 
before applying the "tea," and do not be too gen- 
erous at first — a gallon or so at a time is plenty, 
and a second drink next week if necessary. If the 
main stalk is not too "woody," shoots will 
start promptly from the joints. Allow only a 
few, and disbud vigorously as they grow. 

If they sulk because insect pests have at- 
tacked them or they are diseased. Chapter X 
will tell you what to do. 

The treatment of plants destined to be grown 
in pots varies somewhat from the other. Usually 
sturdy green plants are used for this purpose, 
though dahlias which have not made more than 
three or four inches of growth above ground may 
be dug up, soaked twenty -four hours in muddy 
water, and placed in a ten-inch pot — or even 
larger if possible. Use rich soil, lightened with 
leaf mould or peat, and stimulate with manure 
water at blooming time. 

The pots should be plunged completely into 
the ground in the coolest part of the garden, for, 
as these plants are needed indoors, in the con- 



112 The Amateur^ s Booh of the Dahlia 

servatory or even on the veranda, after the 
garden has gone to sleep, they should be grown 
slowly and the blooming period held back as 
long as possible. Turn the pot every week or so 
in order to destroy any feeding roots which have 
found their way downward through the drainage 
hole. 

Late cuttings can be used for pot-grown plants, 
but tubers from such cannot be depended upon 
for winter keeping if the plants are forced to 
bear many flowers. They do best if the centre 
stalk is pinched back to two or three joints, 
allowing a low-branching system, such as large 
growers use in the fields. This makes a strong, 
husky plant which can easily be handled when 
the proper time comes to lift it indoors. 

Early in September the plant may be shifted 
into a butter tub, previously tarred inside for 
protection against the salted wood. This must 
be done with great care not to disturb the roots, 
and the plant must be vigorously watered di- 
rectly after. 

Small stakes and green string, such as are used 
on Easter plants, will be sufficient support, and 
enough disbudding done, to perfect the flowers, 
will make a very handsome house-plant. In 
this way dahlias may be blooming for you until 
Christmas time. 



CHAPTER IX 

frosts; lifting and storing 

WITH the month of September comes the 
reaUzation of our dreams. Phlox, Hhes, 
asters, all are past. The 'mums are only show- 
ing little buds and will give no colour for another 
month. 

But the dahlias! They have burst forth in 
their full glory. They seem to sing an anthem, 
silent to the ears, but crashing forth a veritable 
halleluiah chorus in colour, a thanksgiving 
chant, for very joy of living. 

Then we feel that the time has been well 
spent in the garden. They have given threefold 
for the little that they demanded of us. Every 
plant by now is an intimate friend. Every 
bloom is a personal gift. 

Our friends come to see, and we enjoy that 
pleasure of all pleasures, the sharing of the gar- 
den with those not so fortunate as we. Guests 
never leave my garden without an armful of 
blooms. No one from my household ever goes 
to town without a boxful of dahlias for folks 

113 



114 The Amateur s Booh of the Dahlia 

in the hospital, or some other unfortunate city 
dwellers — and the plants seem to know this and 
redouble their efforts to give more and more of 
their wealth of beauty ! 

As the month wears on and the nights grow 
cooler, down in our hearts we are thinking of and 
fearing the dahlias' worst enemy — Jack Frost. 
When the afternoons are still and clear, and the 
temperature has been dropping steadily, we have 
good reason for such fears, and it is well to cut 
all the blooms possible — even those not fully 
developed — to be brought into the house. 

Provided that the previous day has not been 
hot or windy or rainy, dahlias will stand a tem- 
perature of 32° for two or three nights in succes- 
sion. In fact, in my garden they have endured 
without harm a temperature registered at 28°. 
Heat and wind tire the plants, and when the 
chill comes they cannot withstand it. If the 
plants are wet, they will freeze, and thus are 
done for. 

We have built smudge fires with some success, 
which protect against a light frost. It is not the 
warmth of such a fire that keeps Jack Frost at 
bay. The smoke rises and forms a sort of 
umbrella over the plants, protecting against the 
dew that might otherwise freeze upon them. 

Sometimes frost steals upon us unawares, or 



Frosts; Lifting and Storing 115 

sometimes he bites in spite of our precautions. 
The tops of the plants show drooping leaves 
and flowers are almost transparent. Spray 
them at once w^ith the coldest of water and cut 
off the blooms. If the sun comes out hot this 
will not help, but if Nature is kind and sends 
us a cloudy day we will find very little damage 
done. The lower parts of the plants are safe at 
any rate, and by cutting away all that is injured, 
we may have plenty of flowers again. 

Such near-tragedies often occur in mid-Sep- 
tember, and then weeks may go by without a 
thought of freezing. When it does come in 
earnest, however, we must turn our backs upon 
the garden for two or three days. They are a 
sorry sight indeed, these poor black things, 
hanging limply upon the stakes. They must 
be left there, nevertheless, until the water from 
the "water-pipe" may go partly back to the 
roots and give them nourishment for their win- 
ter's sleep. In our climate, where warm days 
following a frost may start the eyes to sprout, 
which are really destined for next year; or where 
a cold wet spell may cause the sleeping tubers 
to decay, it is not safe to let these plants remain 
more than three or four days. 

They must be dug carefully. The tubers have 
countless fibrous roots running in all directions, 



116 The Amateur^ s Book of the Dahlia 

which ding tenaciously to the soil. The slender 
necks may easily be strained by them and much 
harm done if care is not exercised. 

First cut down the stalk to within an inch or 
so from the surface of the soil. Pull up the 
stake slowly and carefully and, removing the 
label, attach it to the stalk. The safest way to 
do this is to force the wire through the stalk, 
fastening like an earring. The drying of the 
stalk during the winter shrinks it, and a label 
whose wire is tied around it will easily slip off in 
handling. When all the stakes and rubbish 
have been cleared away get two people to do the 
digging, if you value your roots. Have them 
stand opposite one another on each side of the 
plant, and, armed with spading forks, loosen 
the soil a foot or more away from and around the 
stalk. Then, simultaneously, they should drive 
the forks as far down as possible, making certain 
that the prongs are well under the deeply rooted 
plants, and both together — heave. Do not 
shake off any soil from the clump. If soil and 
roots make a compact mass, all the better, for in 
handling, the tubers are held rigidly in place 
and cannot be broken. Tip the clump upside 
down at once so that all the water may drain out 
while the next clump is being dug. 

Before nightfall bring the clumps under cover 



Frosts; Lifting and Storing 117 

to dry. If the soil around them is clean and 
healthy it may be allowed to remain, but if of 
a clayey substance which holds moisture, it 
should be removed; otherwise decay will surely 
set in during the winter. 

In a few days, or a week, perhaps, the time 
has come to put them away for their long win- 
ter's sleep. 

People differ greatly on the best way to keep 
dahlia roots. During the past twelve years I have 
taken everyone's advice — tried every method 
suggested, lost many valuable roots, and come 
back to my own conclusions. 

There are two things essential in the keeping 
of the roots: In the first place, every root must 
be absolutely sound before it is put away. Ex- 
amine it carefully, and if a spot of decay is found 
on any part, that piece must be cut away. Dust 
the wound with powdered sulphur or slaked 
lime, and no harm will be done. Every house- 
wife, especially since the war, has learned that 
the tiniest decayed spot on a vegetable to be 
canned will decay the whole jarful in short 
order. So it is with a spotted dahlia root. The 
spores increase; they travel through whatever 
covering material is used, come in contact with 
a neighbouring clump, and destroy it. By the 
end of winter not only the original clump, but 



118 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

sometimes every clump in the immediate vicin- 
ity, will be dead. 

For this reason it is important at digging time 
to drain the water out of the hollow stem. Any 
left there has a tendency to start decay in the 
neck of the plant — the very heart of what is to 
come next year. 

The second important factor in the keeping 
of roots is a cold, dry room — a room where there 
is no danger of freezing and where no artificial 
heat can reach it. A temperature of from 40° 
to 50° Fahrenheit is ideal, and it is important to 
maintain this temperature during the spring if 
possible: there is less liability of their sprouting 
at the time we want to divide them. 

There are a number of ways to protect the 
roots from drying out. If the tubers are plump 
and the soil has been left upon them, they can 
merely be stacked in the corner of this cool, dry 
room, and forgotten. The chances are they 
will come through all right. Some people use 
ashes from the furnace or kitchen stove to cover 
them. This is all right if the soil covers the 
tubers and protects them from the ashes, but I 
never advise placing the ashes directly upon the 
tubers, for the alkaline is liable to be destructive 
to the tissues. 

Many people pack their roots into barrels, 



Frosts; Lifting and Storing 119 

placing them upside down, filling as tight as 
possible, and stuflfing the barrel with news- 
papers to keep out the air. Plump tubers us- 
ually survive the winter so, but all slender 
tubers must be packed in some material which 
will completely protect them from the air. 

Sawdust is another medium often used. It is 
cheap and usually easily procured, and under 
ideal conditions should act as perfect protection. 
There is, however, an element dangerous to the 
tubers in the use of sawdust. Nearly all sawdust 
contains some tannic acid. If in any way it 
becomes wet while cold, this acid is set free and 
destroys the tissues of the roots. Sawdust 
holds moisture a long time, and the slightest 
moisture originally in the tubers themselves 
may be taken up and held in the sawdust for 
many weeks afterward. 

A few years ago a large commercial grower of 
dahlias, whom I count among my very good 
friends, disclosed to me what was then a "trade 
secret" on the best way to keep dahlia roots. 
He had learned this at a meeting of the Florists' 
Club or the American Society of Florists, or 
some such association, and all the growers were 
planning to buy up all the ground cork to be 
found. 

I was deeply grateful, and proceeded in search 



120 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

of ground cork myself. None was to be had in 
places where cork was usually sold — all the 
dahlia men had been there before me — so I 
went to the wholesale markets and bought the 
kegs containing ground cork in which Malaga 
grapes had been packed. These I brought home 
in triumph and packed my dahlia roots care- 
fully in them. Next spring there was not a liv- 
ing root among the lot. So much for ground 
cork, so far as I am concerned ! 

After so many trials and failures I began to 
think for myself. For many years since then 
I have packed my roots in sand. Losses have 
seldom been more than one per cent., and I 
have nearly always discovered a good reason for 
the loss. 

Follow these directions, and if your storage 
room is cool and dry, and your roots are sound 
when put away, you will never regret the course : 

Examine every clump for decayed spots and 
for moisture in the stem. Cut off all broken 
tubers and those whose necks have been strained. 
Cut away spots and trim off the fibrous roots. 
If there is any moisture, set the clump to one 
side until dry, for though sand itself will dry 
quickly, it will keep moisture from evaporating 
from the roots, or from the soil which is packed 
about them. The stalks should not be more 



Frosts; Lifting and Storing 121 

than four or five inches long at most, so it is 
usually necessary to cut each back before pack- 
ing. If long stalks are left on the clumps, the 
necks of the tubers are the more easily strained 
because of the greater leverage. Never fail 
when putting on the label to force the wire 
through the stalk — thus preventing serious mis- 
takes by mixing labels while removing from the 
sand in the spring. 

Buy, borrow, beg, or steal all the deep wooden 
boxes which you may need. Set them on the 
floor and line with clean newspaper. Fill the 
bottom of the boxes with live sand, fresh from the 
pit, to a depth of about three or four inches. Lay 
the clumps on this as closely as possible to 
economize space, and fill the whole box with 
sand, so that the higher tubers are covered to 
a depth of three or four inches at least. This 
sand must be fresh and pure. Never use sand 
which has been lying about the potting shed 
or which has been used in the vegetable cellar. 
It is liable to contain the spores of rot or mildew 
and will destroy the tubers. 

Such sand need not be perfectly dry to begin 
with. In the dry cellar all moisture will evapo- 
rate from it immediately. A fortnight or so 
after packing it will be necessary to run the 
hand down into the sand and among the tubers, 



122 The Amateur s Booh of the Dahlia 

to make sure that there are no open air spaces 
where they might dry out. Tuck the sand in 
among them — it will run easily by that time — 
and add more sand on top if necessary. Keep 
the cellar well ventilated and as nearly as 
possible at an even cold temperature without 
freezing. Should the sand become exceedingly 
dry before spring, wet newspapers may be laid 
upon it, though with the exception of very small 
tender roots, this is not a necessary precaution. 

The little "pot roots" still in their pots may 
be placed close together on shelves and watered 
sparingly about once a month. If this is not 
convenient, they may be placed in boxes after 
having had a slight watering a few days before, 
and covered with sand like the other roots. Be 
careful that the labels are not dislodged from the 
pots. It is better to keep each variety in a 
separate box. 

During the winter months a chemical change 
takes place in the dormant roots. They should 
have a month or two in which to adjust them- 
selves for their new start in the spring. This 
is particularly important in case the clumps are 
to be forced for green cuttings. 

In some of our Southern states, where at no 
time during the winter the temperature goes 
much below freezing, and where the soil is sandy 



Frosts; Lifting and Storing 123 

enough to ensure against rot, many growers 
report that the roots remain dormant and keep 
better when left in the ground, to be Hfted when 
ready to divide. A shght mulch is a wise pre- 
caution against an unusual cold snap, however, 
and the hollow stump should be stopped up, to 
avoid accumulation of water. 

Where the ground is heavier, and decay is 
liable to start through moisture and cold, the 
roots must be dug and stored. Since the dor- 
mant season there lasts but two months, the 
packing in sand is not so necessary if the material 
is not easily procured. 

Dampness is the feature to combat in the cellar 
where the climate is warm, and some people find 
it necessary to pack the roots in gunny -sacks and 
suspend them from the ceiling. 

While the roots are sleeping do not forget to 
prepare their breakfast. Put the bonemeal into 
the soil as soon as the roots have been taken 
out. The soil is loose then and the fertilizer is 
easily incorporated. 



CHAPTER X 

PESTS AND REMEDIES 

WE ARE always told that there are very few 
pests which harass the dahlia; yet every 
treatise on dahlias that I have seen gives the 
name of a new enemy, every friend I have 
questioned has spoken of some beast that 
destroys, and has asked for a suggestion for a 
remedy. 

There are enemies waiting underground to 
attack the roots as soon as planted. There are 
beasts who steal from their hiding places at 
night and cut down the tender shoots. There 
are mean, slimy, sneaking things which crawl up 
the young plant and suck the sweet water from 
the water-pipe, interrupting the flow and 
damaging the stems. There are horrid, crawly 
worms who snuggle inside the main stalk and 
fatten on the pithy lining until suddenly the 
whole plant drops dead. There are flying 
creatures both large and small, who sting the 
tender shoots, or plant their eggs therein, causing 
them to shrivel and die. When we have battled 

124 





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Pests and Remedies 125 

successfully with them all summer, and at last 
the plants are in their full glory of bloom, there 
arrives a true plague of grasshoppers who veri- 
tably devour them under our eyes! And then, 
last of all, when we put them to bed for the 
winter, there comes a disease to attack the 
dormant roots which practically ends their use- 
fulness. 

No, there are plenty of enemies to the dahlia; 
but fortunately few people have more than two 
or three of them to attend to. In one locality, 
that two or three may be quite a different 
collection from that endured by another garden 
a few miles away. This may be partly due to 
climate, but more often to soil or neighbouring 
plant life. In a garden like mine, for instance, 
surrounded by the wilderness of virgin forest, 
the enemies which I must fight are quite differ- 
ent from those which a friend must look for who 
lives in a community of carefully cultivated 
gardens. 

We might divide the enemies into three 
classes — four-legged, six-legged, and those who 
have no legs at all. I confess there are some two- 
legged animals who come to my garden when I 
am not there, and carry off my best blooms — 
my method of combating them is to invite them 
to come by day when I am there, that I may have 



126 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

the pleasure of cutting the flowers myself and 
presenting them with a bouquet ! 

Of the four-legged there are but two — rabbits 
and moles. Rabbits are easily dispensed with by 
a shotgun — or Paris green on lettuce leaves 
spread appetizingly about, just in time for sup- 
per. The shotgun would be the surer method, 
if we can persuade the local game warden that 
the rabbit was damaging the crops. (By the 
way, rabbits in early spring are excellent ferti- 
lizers for grapevines and climbing roses!) 

But moles often become a serious menace 
where dahlias are to be grown. 

Fortunately our Government is wise enough to 
consider moles as vermin, allowing us to kill 
them by whatever means we wish. In a few 
European countries, moles are considered bene- 
ficial to the farmer, as they devour the pupa of all 
pestiferous insects, and seldom if ever eat of the 
roots of crops. That is all very well in Germany. 
I have often wished the moles that visit my 
garden were in Germany. I do not want them 
in my dahlia beds and I am sure that my readers 
do not want them in theirs. 

Moles usually make their permanent runs in 
early spring. If the run is damaged by forking 
the garden, they come back and repair it. 
These runs usually lead to the nest, quite far 



Pests and Remedies 127 

below the reach of the spading fork, and when 
the baby moles are able to leave the nest, Papa 
Mole and Mamma Mole take them out and give 
them a first-hand lesson in heaving the soil. 
They make little branch galleries from the main 
runs and seem to rejoice in passing under a 
newly planted tuber, giving it an extra heave. 

Perhaps the tuber has grown a nice shoot six 
or eight inches high. The ground all about it is 
soft and we cannot see that a mole has been 
working there until suddenly the tender little 
plant drops dead. On putting the hand into 
the soil around the tuber, we find a large hole 
under it. All the rain water has run away 
through that hole, and the air in the hole has 
dried the tuber beyond repair. This will often 
happen in mid-summer as well, even with large 
plants having good-sized roots. The spring runs 
of the moles are abandoned after a while and 
mice, shrews, and ground squirrels use them, de- 
vouring the roots as they find them. 

There are several methods of poisoning moles, 
and many people have had success with them. 
Poisoned grains may now be purchased, and are 
far easier to handle than the home-made variety. 
Generally directions are given with the package. 
I always use a small stick to make a tiny hole 
in the roof of the run every few feet, dropping 



128 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

a few of the grains in and carefully covering 
the hole with a lump of soil, a small stone, or a 
bit of sod. Moles, being blind, have their other 
senses more acute and can immediately tell if 
there is a hole in the roof of the run by the fresh 
air which comes in that way. This makes them 
cautious, and the poisoned grain may not be con- 
sidered a safe diet that day. 

There are a number of gases used in the runs 
to kill moles, but there is much labour entailed 
in the finding of all openings (which of course 
must be tightly sealed), and unless the run leads 
to a nest, there is little chance of the gas reaching 
the intended victim. 

Intelligent trapping with me has been the 
most successful method. Moles hibernate very 
far underground, and after their long winter's 
sleep they are hungry. In early spring they run 
close under the surface of the soil in search of 
insects and pupae, and are not so wary of possible 
dangers as they are later in the season. If the 
trap is set as soon as a new run is discovered, the 
chances are that Mr. Mole will be in it before 
sundown. 

The ordinary mole trap is made of strong steel. 
A plate containing long spikes is attached to a 
powerful spring which drives it down as soon 
as the mole works under a second plate set over 



Pests and Remedies 129 

the run — this plate being held in place by a very 
sensitive lever, easily dislodged by the disturb- 
ance of the earth below. In setting the trap, 
tramp the run down lightly for about two feet, 
and test the trap where it is set to see that no 
stones interfere with the teeth. Under no cir- 
cumstances touch the trap or the soil with the 
hands, for the mole has a more sensitive nose 
than we give him credit for. He quickly sus- 
pects foul play and will work around outside the 
trap. This will more often be so after he has had 
a square meal. 

Rid the dahlia beds of moles in the early 
spring, and there are few chances that you will 
have trouble with them again. Keep an eye 
open for them at all times, however. If you see 
one working and heaving the soil, step quickly 
upon either side of him so that he cannot escape, 
and dig him out with a stick. Blind as they are, 
they can run like the mischief, and it takes 
quick action to get one. They can bite, too, 
and the sooner he is put an end to, the better. 
The most merciful way is to hold him securely by 
the tail, and with stick or trowel give him a light 
blow on the nose. This ruptures a blood vessel 
and he is instantly killed. 

With the enemies which have no legs, such as 
snails, we might as well include the cutworm 



130 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

and borer (though they have a means of pro- 
pelHng closely resembling legs), and slugs of 
various insects who have so many that we cannot 
count them. 

The usual method of combating them is by 
the use of barriers to keep them from reaching 
the plants. Snails are usually kept off by using 
a square of building paper about six inches each 
way. Cut a cross slit in the centre to be bent 
and fitted around the stalk, and one slit cut 
through from the centre to the edge. Open this 
paper and place it around the stalk, as far down 
as is practical, bending the points downward, 
adjusting it to make a shield, thus preventing 
them from climbing any farther. If the plants 
are young, a little circular ridge of coal ashes may 
be placed around them, about six inches away 
from the stalk. This the snails cannot climb, 
nor the slugs burrow. 

Slugs may be trapped by placing boards or 
flat stones all about the plants, and each day 
harvesting the crop. 

Cutworms are an abomination not to be en- 
dured in the garden. Their depredations play 
havoc for a while during the month of May and 
the early part of June. They come out of their 
holes at night, crawl over to their victim, stand 
on their tails and, with great precision, cut the 



Pests and Remedies 131 

stalk off just one inch from the ground. After 
feeding upon the sweet fresh juices of the plant, 
they snuggle down into the soil close by — only 
just under the surface — and sleep and grow fat, 
until the following night, when they repeat their 
operations. They are easily found when the 
ground is stirred near the injured plant, all curled 
up tight and too lazy to move — of light gray 
colour with yellow head. Kill every one you 
meet if you value your dahlias. 

Cutworms are easily kept away by a "collar" 
of building paper. Cut a strip three or four 
inches wide and about ten inches long. Pin 
the two ends together, making a collar about 
three and one half inches in diameter. Place 
this around the young plant when first set out, 
or as soon as it has started up from the tuber, 
forcing it about an inch and a half into the 
ground. No cutworm can burrow more than an 
inch below the surface of the soil, and as he can- 
not crawl up on any object he is unable to get 
over the barrier. 

If the garden soil is much infested with cut- 
worms, with slugs, or pupae of any destructive 
insect, there is a very efficient remedy which 
can be used with definite result, ridding it of all 
such things and at the same time when used in 
very large quantities killing weeds and seeds of 



132 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

weeds which may be there. This remedy is also 
most valuable in the vegetable garden and in 
soil destined for hot beds and greenhouses. 

With a strong crow bar force a hole into the 
bed about twelve inches deep. Pour into it one 
tablespoonful of carbon bi-sulphide and close the 
hole immediately. Repeat these holes every 
eighteen or twenty inches in every direction, but 
never nearer than two and a half feet from a 
shrub or growing plant. Their roots, spreading 
some two feet, might be injured by the treat- 
ment. This chemical instantly forms a gas 
which percolates throughout the soil and kills 
all animal life. It also seems to have a tendency 
to liberate certain ingredients in the soil, thus 
adding to its fertility. 

If you are a man and inclined to smoke a 
meditative pipe while doing garden chores please 
have courage enough to desist during this 
operation, else — Bang! and that will be the end 
of the story ! 

In a few hours the gas will have entirely passed 
off, and next day it is quite safe to plant the 
garden, feeling sure that no cutworms will 
disturb them this year at least. Carbon bi- 
sulphide may be purchased from any chemist for 
fifty cents per pound. It is a liquid which, like 
ether, evaporates quickly. The pound seems to 



Pests and Remedies 133 

be the proverbial pint and is sufficient to treat 
thirty-two holes — enough to protect fourteen 
dahlia plants set in a double row. 

Another legless enemy is the stem-borer, of 
whose presence we can never be aware until 
suddenly the top of a well-grown dahlia plant 
droops and dies. On examining the stalk, it is 
easy to find a tiny hole which he has pierced in 
order to enter. Cutting down the dead part of 
the bush we find him in the hollow stalk; two 
inches long and as plump as your little finger, 
having fattened deliberately upon the inner 
lining of the ''water-pipe." The dahlia plant 
may sometimes be saved without cutting back 
if the damage is discovered before it has gone too 
far. Make a slit in the stalk just below the hole 
— ^for he is quick to know that you are after him, 
and will drop to the bottom of the section he 
inhabits as soon as the plant is disturbed — and 
fish him out with a wire. The slit may be tied 
together with a bit of soft string around the stem, 
and usually heals in a day or two, when the 
string should be removed. 

Another excellent method of treating borers is 
to puncture a small round hole at the top of the 
section inhabited by the borer, and with a 
medicine dropper flood the section with a weak 
solution of arsenate of lead — about half the 



134 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

strength for sprays. The corpse of the borer 
seems to act as a fertilizer! 

Be sure to give abundant water to the roots of 
the plant for a day or two, if it is not cut back, 
in order that it may more easily recover. If 
much does have to be cut away, the plant puts 
out new shoots with great speed. 

The six-legged enemies are divided into two 
classes — those which suck the juice, and those 
which chew. The insecticides employed against 
the latter are to poison the leaf which they chew, 
the poison being taken into their systems with 
their food and killing them. Arsenate of lead 
is the best for this purpose as, although it spots 
the foliage by reason of its own whitish colour, 
it does not injure them. The sucking insects 
are not so easy to handle, especially on dahlias. 
They must be killed by a chemical which pene- 
trates through their skins. Any irritant which 
is strong will kill the dahlia as well as the insects. 

Among the six-legged enemies are the aphids; 
green, black, and white fly, who begin early in the 
summer, as soon as the plants put out their 
tender shoots, and continue their depredations 
until frost. They may be grouped under the one 
name, plant lice, and Huxley, whose word has 
never been questioned, stated that the un- 
interrupted breeding of ten generations from a 



Pests and Remedies 135 

single ancestor would produce a mass of organic 
matter equal to the bulk of five hundred million 
human beings! All this bulk comes from plant 
life and their taste goes strongly to that which 
is cultivated rather than that which is wild. 
Fortunately for us we have birds who devour 
them by the thousands and little red lady-bugs 
and their tiny violet-tinted cousins, whose 
diet consists almost wholly of aphis, and who 
are in turn eaten by the birds. 

Early in the spring an egg planted on a fruit 
tree hatches out a little lady aphid without 
wings. In a few days this first mother brings 
forth living young, also females, and continues, 
as long as she lives, to add two to eight females 
daily — nearly all summer. There are no hus- 
bands to boss or brothers to bother, and all these 
females continue the same process without 
hesitation. The third generation proceeds to 
develop wings, and by common impulse flies 
direct to the tender shoots of any especially 
valuable plant. Again they produce wingless 
female young as rapidly as their great-grand- 
mother, and the tender shoots are quickly 
covered with aphids who daily also produce 
more. 

Possessing sharp beaks, which they force into 
the tender stem, they spend their lives pumping 



136 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

the juice into their bodies. Every now and 
then they raise their hind legs and discharge a 
sweet syrup of which ants are very fond. Ant 
hills are always found near a colony of aphids. 
Late in the summer the last generation of fe- 
males develop wings once more, and fly back to 
the fruit tree whence their ancestors came. 
Then comes a generation exclusively of hus- 
bands and fathers who shortly perish, leaving the 
women folks to hibernate and begin operations 
next spring. 

We cannot afford to leave the work of de- 
struction of aphids entirely to the birds and 
lady bugs. A mild solution of nicotine-sulphate 
is a good remedy. (Black Leaf 40 added 
to whale oil soap solution is as effective as 
any.) Usually a solution a little more 
than half the strength of that used on roses 
suffices to kill the lice on dahlias. The tender, 
soft growth cannot stand the irritation caused 
by tobacco when very strong. The three aphids 
vary in their habits only a little, but the treat- 
ment is about the same. In the case of young 
plants, if only a few shoots are slightly affected, 
the aphids can be wiped off or the shoots cut off 
and burned. 

White flies appear late in June or early July, 
when hot weather first begins, and can be 



Pests and Remedies 137 

noticed only in the winged stage, which keeps 
up intermittently for a couple of months. 
White flies hide under the leaves and in the 
joints of the shoots, flying about aimlessly when 
disturbed. They bite and suck the juices of the 
tender stems though not so incessantly as do the 
black or green aphids. They are particularly 
fond of the flower bud in its tenderest stage, and 
it is these little wretches we may thank for 
our one-sided or malformed blossoms. They are 
the most difiicult type to combat, especially as 
tobacco solution is only a cure and not a pre- 
vention. By this I mean that, to take effect, 
tobacco must be sprayed direct upon the bodies 
of the insects to be killed. It will not drive away 
those which did not happen to be killed. It 
irritates the skin and closes their breathing pores, 
and they dry up where they happen to be. 

Often confused with the white fly, and for some 
reason, usually associating with it, is the tiny 
green or white leaf-hopper. In its final winged 
state it very closely resembles it, and plants 
its eggs in the mid-ribs and veins of the dahlia 
leaves. This halts the circulation of sap within 
the leaf, causing it to turn yellow and curl at the 
edges. Surely every one who has grown dahlias 
will recognize this trouble. The "nymphs," 
or newly hatched babies, are always to be found 



138 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

under the leaves, close to these mid-ribs. They 
possess sharp beaks like the flies, and suck the 
juice also from the mid-rib, causing as much, if 
not more, damage than the white fly. 

From the Wisconsin Experiment Station 
comes the news that these little fellows not only 
cause trouble by sucking the juice, but that they 
are liable to impregnate the plant with a dis- 
ease. In dahlias it is carried over from year to 
year in the tuber. This disease is commonly 
called Mosaic, and is so resistant to remedies 
that most people recommend total destruction 
of the whole plant. 

Bordeaux mixture and nicotine sulphate con- 
trol the pest. The plants should be sprayed 
four or five times during the summer; the first 
spray to be applied about the middle of June. 
The following sprays should be applied at peri- 
ods of ten days or a fortnight, and, if frequent 
rains occur, repeated immediately. 

Mix your Bordeaux according to the direc- 
tions on the container in which it comes (or if 
you choose, 4 pounds copper sulphate and 4 
pounds unslaked lime to 50 gallons water). 
Mix your nicotine with it — 6 fluid ounces to the 
50 gallons Bordeaux — and spray with the finest 
mist under the leaves. It must be under the 
leaves and it may be everywhere else ! 



Pests and Remedies 139 

This kills the hoppers and prevents further 
depredations. The treatment of the disease 
itself will be found later in this chapter. 

A red spider and a green spider will sometimes 
attack dahlias in hot, dry weather, but they are 
easily done away with by a forcible spray from 
the hose. This should be thoroughly done a 
few days in succession to kill any eggs which 
might hatch out in the interim. 

Red ants are sometimes a nuisance also, though 
they only do any material damage in some lo- 
calities. They are always to be found where 
the soil is exceptionally rich. Where the nests 
are not too near a dahlia plant, they can be 
destroyed by pouring a bit of boiling water into 
the entrance. This will kill the queen and most 
of the colony. Should ants persist, they may 
be poisoned. 

Late some afternoon scatter about among 
the nests a small quantity of very finely ground 
meat. The ants will devour it greedily and by 
next morning it will be gone. The following 
afternoon, spread about the same quantity of 
finely ground meat, but this time well mixed 
with Paris green. Next day there will not be 
an ant in the vicinity. 

Now we come to the Buffalo Tree-hopper 
with his horns and hump back. He both sucks 



140 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

and chews, though the chewing is so sHght that 
the use of arsenate of lead has httle value. His 
back is so hard that it is impossible to penetrate 
it with nicotine, and there is little left that we 
may do but hand picking. He coquettes around 
the back of the stem when he sees you, and is 
hard to find, but it is your face he is watching, 
not your hand. Hold a pot of kerosene and with 
a quick motion of the hand from behind knock 
him in. Handle him with gloves, however. He 
has a pair of horns with a vicious prick to leave 
the fingers sore for several hours after. 

Late in the summer there are times when we 
suddenly find a young leaf or two high up near 
a blossom turned brown and crisp, or the stem 
of a bud grown limp and black. Shake the bush 
and there arises a perfume whereby we quickly 
recognize the *' Stink Bug" of unholy fame. A 
large brown beast he is, from one half to one 
inch in length, cousin to a pole-cat maybe, and 
so sure of protection by his evil smell that he 
scarcely bothers to move at your approach. 

Touch him not with the hands or his memory 
will lurk with you for some time. My weapon 
is a pair of pointed scissors with which he is 
quickly snipped in two. He may also be dropped 
into the kerosene can if you run across him when 
on a "Buffalo Hunt." 



Pests and Remedies 141 

The striped cucumber beetle and his various 
relatives are easily dispensed with by the use 
of arsenate of lead. Every package of this 
arsenate has the formula and directions for use 
printed clearly on the box. The paste or syrup 
has been my favourite to use as it dissolves more 
quickly than the powder. In all cases where 
dahlias are concerned it is safest to err on the side 
of a weaker solution. It spots and disfigures 
the plants and should not be used unless they 
are overrun by beetles. 

Grasshoppers seem to wait until the finest 
blooms are out before they come in any great 
numbers. Then they pick out the delicately 
tinted ones and devour! 

There seems to be no real remedy suggested 
for them, except hand picking and clean cultiva- 
tion around the dahlia beds. Let there be no 
tall grass near by for them to breed in. 

I have had very good luck with two sprays 
recommended for rose chafer, and if any one 
has the time for and the price of these expensive 
luxuries, they are well worth a trial when there 
are grasshoppers in large numbers. The flowers 
are not injured by the spray, and certainly with 
me the hoppers disappeared. 

Mildew attacks the leaves sometimes and is 
generally due to a poor location without suffi- 



142 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

cient circulation of air and too rich soil. Dahlias 
must have fresh air at all times. If not, they 
"damp off" when young, or mildew when older. 
Occasionally, when a long spell of cold, damp 
weather comes, when books in the bookcases 
and even shoes in the cupboards grow white and 
furry, we may well expect mould on the dahlias. 
Powdered sulphur is the best remedy. Dust it 
on when the leaves are damp so that it will stick. 
Cut out the blackened leaves and shoots, and 
when the sun comes out again new growth will 
soon appear to replace them. 

Tubers of dahlias are subject to a mild form 
of scab, somewhat resembling potato scab. 
While quite dormant it is safe to soak them for 
two hours in a weak solution of formaldehyde — 
one fluid ounce of formaldehyde to two gallons 
of water. Dry them off before planting. 

Mosaic, another disease, attacks the roots, 
and many remedies have been tried without 
avail. Usually the tuber has a normal ap- 
pearance when planted, but the growth is slow 
and stunted and imperfect flowers develop if 
any at all. This disease is carried over in the 
root from year to year, but it never affects an- 
other root if planted in the same spot where a 
diseased dahlia had grown the year before. 
Lately the use of bichloride of mercury solution. 



Pests and Remedies 143 

1 to 1,000, has been tried with some success 
though the result is still doubtful. A newer 
remedy is Bordeaux mixture both sprayed on the 
leaves and poured into the ground. If the 
disease is discovered early enough, cut the stalk 
down to the ground and dig into the soil a hand- 
ful of powdered sulphur. When a new shoot 
appears, mix into three gallons of water one tea- 
cup of Bordeaux mixture, and water the ground 
and the young shoot thoroughly. This quantity 
seems appallingly strong, but by using as soon 
as the young stalk appears above ground, it has 
proved to be perfectly successful in checking the 
disease in several cases during the past summer. 
Unless the variety is exceptionally rare, how- 
ever, it is far better to burn the diseased clump 
and buy a healthy tuber next year. 

Sometimes a tuber which is not diseased will 
show symptoms much the same when starting 
into growth. It will begin in a normal way, 
but when six or eight inches high it will stop 
growing. The fibre becomes woody and the 
leaves thicken but do not enlarge. This is 
usually caused by the fact that the tuber was too 
dry when first planted. 

Dig up the plant promptly, and cut the shoot 
back to one joint. If the tuber is of fairly good 
size cut it down and examine it for any spots of 



144 The Amateur*s Booh of the Dahlia 

decay. Cut out any such spots and dust either 
with powdered sulphur or slaked lime, or apply 
a solution of bichloride 1 part to 1,000 parts 
of water. Any druggist can prepare this solu- 
tion, and as it is an excellent cure for rot in iris 
as well, it is a good thing to have on hand in the 
tool shed. (Be sure to mark your bottle ''Poison." 
In these Prohibition days anything in a bottle 
may be interesting to a stranger!) Then soak 
the root in a pail of water for two days and re- 
plant in a sandy soil enriched with peat or leaf 
mould. Keep the ground moist for a week and 
the shoot will start up like magic. 

Sometimes this trouble may be caused by the 
bud or eye being wedged so tightly either be- 
tween two tubers or between the tuber and the 
old stalk that it cannot start new roots from 
the base of the shoot as it grows. It lives as 
long as it can on the old tuber, which some- 
times even prolongs its life by enlarging its size. 
New tubers cannot form, and if the plant sur- 
vives, when dug at the end of the season only 
the original tuber may be found. Always have 
this in mind when planting a tuber, cutting 
away any bit of stalk or superfluous tuber 
which might interfere with the formation of new 
ones. 

There is a beast which troubles not the dahlia. 



Pests and Remedies 145 

though, lurking among its fohage by the thou- 
sand, they wait the coming of the innocent 
human and descend upon him in hordes. They 
bite; they sting; they torment with their song. 

Perhaps just for revenge humans have named 
them Culex pungens or Anaphales quadrima- 
culata; but that does not help us, and I have no 
remedy to offer for the mosquito. 



CHAPTER XI 

CUTTING, PACKING, SHIPPING 

MUVVER, see what a nice present I have 
brought you!" and the Ray of Sunshine 
danced into the room bearing in his hot, chubby 
Httle hands the remnants of what had once been 
blooms from some of my finest dahhas. Jerked 
oflF the bush, with short ragged stems at the hot- 
test hour of the morning, they were wilted al- 
most past recognition; yet the lovelight in the 
eyes of the child, and the happiness expressed 
there because he could share the beautiful 
blossoms with someone whom he loved, checked 
the first impulse on my part to mourn over the 
poor dead things. 

So with great elaboration we prepared vases 
and bowls of fresh water, found some soft 
foliage, and arranged the corpses to look as well 
as possible. (I felt a little like an undertaker 
arranging for the last rites!) When all the 
work was finished, a little gray cloud passed 
over the face of Sunshine. His mouth pursed 

146 



Cutting y Packing, Shipping 147 

up. "They don't look so very nice, after all, 
Muvver. Why?" 

It is the human impulse to gather flowers and 
to share them with others. No child is normal 
unless he has done it; and it is only left for us 
to show him with kindness and tact just how 
to do it so that the flowers themselves do not 
suffer. 

Travelling in to town we see the ''city folks" 
bearing tightly in their hands bouquets of little 
ball-shaped dahlias on three-inch stems. They 
have spent the week-end with Cousin Kate, and 
Cousin Kate's garden is resplendent in its 
September glory. The dahlias there are the 
same that Aunt Prudence, Cousin Kate's mother, 
had grown fifty years ago, and the roots have 
been carefully stored in the potato cellar each 
winter. Somehow the blossoms are not as large 
or as fine in colour as in Aunt Prudence's day, 
but then Cousin Kate has to look after the 
chickens and do all the housework for the 
family, and she has not so much time to tend 
flowers as her mother had. Moreover, her 
husband needs all the manure for the cornfield 
and so the flower garden must do as best it can 
without. But the little dahlias look beautiful 
to city eyes and they are going to receive all the 
best attention due them in return for the cheer 



148 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

which they will radiate throughout the stuffy 
Httle flat on the East Side. 

Carrying an armful of blossoms in to town 
we are met by a chorus of kiddies, "Oh! Lady, 
give me a flower!" and almost before their in- 
tended destination, the hospital, is reached, 
the blossoms are gone. I, for one, have learned 
to carry the hospital flowers in a box, and an 
armful for the kiddies as good measure ! 

Most of these kiddies have parents who still 
remember their sunny Italy, and tears dim their 
tired eyes when the little ones carry home these 
strange bright flowers. They have probably 
never seen dahlias before, but their colours 
bring up recollections of the old cottage on the 
hillside smothered in bloom. They hurry to 
find an old tomato can and place the stems in 
water with loving care, forgetting for a time the 
sordid brick and mortar where they have now 
chosen to end their days. 

Each week a burden of bloom is carried to 
hospitals, where our boys from overseas, still 
broken in health, are making so brave a struggle 
to get well. Better for them than medicine is 
this tonic of colour and cheer. Just one glimpse 
at their faces when they catch sight of the 
dahlias will tell you this, and your blossoms will 
go to them as regularly as do mine. 



Cutting y Packing, Shipping 149 

Flowers for the hospitals, flowers for your 
friends, flowers for the shows, all must be cut 
and cared for with intelligence, so that they will 
keep fresh as long as possible. This is particu- 
larly so with dahlias. 

There are three things to know when gather- 
ing dahlias: the right time to cut, the right way 
to cut, and how to handle them immediately 
afterward. Yet none of these things is of avail 
if the dahlia plants have been forced and are 
without constitution. Time and again have I 
been asked why dahlias wilt almost immediately 
after being cut, even though my directions 
have been carefully followed. Examination of 
the plants invariably shows improper cultiva- 
tion. The soil is too rich in nitrates, perhaps. 
Sometimes they have been too vigorously 
watered, or possibly the soil has not been kept 
loose and friable enough, and the plant has had 
a hard struggle to grow. 

If dahlias have been planted and cultivated 
as I have described, and grown slowly, yet 
without check, the blooms, if cut and cared for 
as I shall explain, will last at an average of a 
week or ten days. 

The cool of the morning is the best time to cut 
dahlias (this is not so very early by daylight- 
saving time in September !) . The dew should be 



150 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

on them still and the sun's hot rays should not 
have touched them. Have a bucket of clean, 
freshly drawn water at hand. Cut the stems 
as long as possible ; pull off the lower leaves so 
that none may go into the water, and plunge the 
stems into it immediately. Large dahlias should 
be cut with stems never less than eighteen inches 
long, and would look better if they were four 
feet. The singles and pompons should have 
stems proportionate. One day I unconsciously 
found myself, when arranging dahlias in their 
vases, calculating the stems at three and a half 
times the diameter of the bloom — which happens 
to be its own circumference also ! 

Bring the dahlias into a cool dark room for a 
few hours, to recover from the shock, and they 
may then be arranged for the house decoration, 
or for packing and shipping. The open-centred 
ones droop more quickly than those which are 
full petalled. The singles last only a few days, 
as a rule, and the collarettes but a day longer. 
Peony dahlias with strong stems seem to hold 
their petals longer than the graceful ones with 
flexible stems. The varieties with upright habit 
of growth, such as Insulinde, Princess Pat, 
Ballon, and J. Harrison Dick, seem to last longer 
both on the plant and in water than any of the 
others. 



Cutting, Packing, Shipping 151 

Ball or show dahlias of great size have not the 
keeping qualities that the decoratives have. To 
open to their fullest capacity, they must remain 
on the plants much longer than the others; 
therefore the back petals begin to dry at the 
edges almost before their opening is complete. 

Nearly all dahlias, under average weather 
conditions, take about a week to open to their 
fullest glory. Some will fully open in a day or 
two, but the bloom grows in size after that, 
needing two, three, and sometimes four more 
days. The singles and the collarettes take less 
time for this and, as I have already stated, the 
ball-shaped take more. One must judge the 
best time to cut some of the varieties, as certain 
reds will burn in the hot sun, and many laven- 
ders bleach at the centre. It is better to cut 
these a bit early, opening them in the house, 
although they will never grow to as great a size 
this way. Blooms from dahlia plants which 
have been struggling to open in dry weather 
and have had much water given them last only 
a short time. They seem to be tired out. On 
the other hand, blooms which have opened in 
cool and cloudy weather have the finest colour 
and last longer than under any other condition. 
Blooms which have been tossed and whipped 
by the wind will hardly last a day after cutting. 



152 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

An excellent recipe has been given me by a 
gardener friend for adding to the water in the 
vases : 

Into a one quart bottle put : 

1 tablespoon salt. 

1 tablespoon refined bicarbonate of soda. 

1 tablespoon household ammonia. 

Fill with pure water — shake well until fully 
dissolved. Add about a tablespoon of this 
mixture into each pint-size vase of water before 
putting in the dahlia stems. Dahlia stems 
when put into water have a tendency to decay, cre- 
ating an acid condition. This, in turn, is absorbed 
by the stems, injuring the bloom. The alkaline 
solution counteracts this, and the salt strength- 
ens. 

Water should be changed every day, and fresh 
alkaline may be added if necessary. Be sure 
that the stems have plenty of room in the 
vases, and plenty of water to drink. The evapo- 
ration from both leaves and flowers is very 
great, and much is taken up by the stem every 
day. Never place the stem of a dahlia into so 
narrow a vase that it will be pressed against the 
side at any point whatever. I have seen a 
bloom droop ten minutes after being so treated. 

If newly cut flowers have a tendency to wilt 
in spite of these precautions, the old-fashioned 



Cutting, Packing, Shipping 153 

remedy of plunging into hot water may be 
resorted to. Use water as hot as the hand can 
possibly bear, and put the stems into it as far 
as they will go without touching the leaves. 
Leave them about ten minutes and place them at 
once into very cold water. The hot water 
merely opens the pores of the stalks so that they 
can immediately absorb the fresh cold water 
given them afterward. A little stimulant in 
this cold water helps a lot. I have sometimes 
added a pinch of nitrate of soda with good 
results and recently experimenting with strych- 
nine, one grain to a half gallon of water, as recom- 
mended for peonies and roses, I have found 
that also to be successful in reviving dahlias. 

Blooms which have wilted and been revived 
are not fit to be shipped. They do well enough 
at home, and with careful tending will last many 
days in water. They are like convalescent peo- 
ple; after further hardships they will not survive. 

Use only strong, vigorous blooms for shipping. 
Those which have not developed to their full 
size will stand the journey better. The fuU- 
petalled decoratives travel better than the open- 
centred. The show and cactus types are the 
most difficult to pack. 

All sorts of boxes are made for shipping 
flowers, but those made of strong brown card- 



154 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

board, reenforced with the same material corru- 
gated, are Hght and strong and stand the wear 
and tear of travel. They come in collapsible 
form and can be stored in small space when 
not in use. The best size and shape is four feet 
long, twelve inches wide, and ten inches high — 
allowing large-flowered, long-stemmed varieties 
plenty of rooin. 

When packed, the dahlia blooms should be 
perfectly dry, or they will become heated and 
decay en route. The stems should be kept 
moist so that no evaporation comes from the 
reservoir within. I know a dahlia grower who 
always sears the tip of the stem before shipping 
so that it will not "bleed." If you have the 
time and the blooms are valuable, wrap each 
stem in cotton batting or cotton cloth soaked 
in water. Tie a bit of waxed paper over this 
and the stem will be able to have a drink of 
water on the way. 

Line the box completely with waxed paper 
and lay the largest blooms with longest stems 
on the bottom. Cover each bloom with waxed 
paper, protecting it from rubbing its neighbour. 
When the bottom layer of flowers is in place, 
with a large sail needle and soft white cotton 
string, sew the stems to the cardboard bottom. 
Be sure to place a few folds of waxed paper next 



Cutting, Packing, Shipping 155 

the stem if any sewing is done at the neck of the 
bloom, sewing right through the paper to hold 
it in place. This saves the stem from being cut 
by the string. 

Place shorter stemmed blossoms nearer the 
centre of the box, over the stems of the bottom 
layer, protecting first with waxed paper laid 
between. Tie these down also with string and 
needle if necessary, and then fill the box with the 
blossoms having still shorter stems. Use plenty 
of waxed paper to avoid chafing of blossoms and 
stems and pack the box tight before closing. 
These cardboard boxes need not be wrapped, of 
course, but mark them in large red letters " PER- 
ISHABLE" and "FRAGILE" before trusting 
them to the tender mercies of the transportation 
companies. 



CHAPTER XII 

DAHLIA SHOWS 

WITH the coming of September, its shorter 
days and chilly nights; with the mass of 
blooms in the garden and thoughts of the dahlia 
shows now drawing near, there comes over the 
gardener a tense excitement like that of a horse 
about to run a race. 

The schedules arrive and we pore over them, 
trying mentally to fit what we have into the 
classes provided. ''Is Hortulanus Fiet pink 
enough to go into the pink class .^" you ask your- 
self. (Not if someone else puts in Delice — no 
other pink dahlia has a chance with Delice.) 
Then you begin to worry because the red class 
calls for six blooms of one variety, and you have 
only five good blooms of Kalif on your three 
plants, and one bud which does not look as if it 
will open in time. There is a class for twelve 
cactus dahlias in three varieties, and you are 
not sure whether you should have four of each 
kind or just put in twelve — maybe six of one 
variety and three each of the other two. In 

156 




The dainty primness of the Miniature Pompon 



Dahlia Shows 157 

thinking over ideas for an artistic arrangement 
of dahlias you wish that you knew who the 
judges are to be so as to arrange the flowers to 
their taste ! 

Well, you will make your entries, anyway, and 
trust to luck that you may be able to bring 
some flowers, at least! So you fill in the blanks 
and post them with trembling fingers. 

When the great day arrives and you start to 
gather the flowers, you are amazed at the num- 
ber you have. Crystal seemed to have opened 
on purpose for that artistic arrangement you 
had planned (after you learned that ladies were to 
judge that class — you had vowed to use Mina 
Burgle if it was to be men !) 

The extra bud of Kalif had opened wide and 
the other five blooms were holding their own in 
form and colour. You have four each of the 
three varieties of cactus dahlias, which in your 
heart you knew all the time was much more 
liable to win against six of one and three each of 
the other two. Of course it was a pity that 
some of the varieties failed so that one or two 
of the classes had to be left out, but you have so 
many blooms, anyway, you wonder how you will 
get them all to the show. 

When you finally do reach there you think that 
bedlam has been turned loose. Everyone is 



158 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

running about asking questions which no one 
seems to be able to answer. Someone cannot 
find vases. Where is the water? Somebody 
else's flowers have not yet arrived — and what 
can be done about it? Another has staged all 
his entries in the wrong places and forgotten to 
put up his cards. It is not until long after the 
hour set for judging that the hall at last is 
cleared, the debris swept up, and we wait with 
bated breath for the result. 

Let every local community have a dahlia show 
this year. There is no one flower so well adapted 
for this purpose than a dahlia. Because of its 
wide range of colour and form, it is like a hun- 
dred kinds, yet in scoring points they may com- 
pete justly with one another. 

The latter part of September is the best time 
in our Eastern States, while on the Pacific Coast 
they are held throughout the whole month and 
until mid-October. 

The show of the American Dahlia Society is 
always held the last week in September — a time 
when Southern dahlias are still blooming and 
Northern dahlias are just at their prime. Plan 
the local show so that the dates will not conflict; 
so that you may see all the new varieties there 
and choose your prize winners for next year. 



Dahlia Shows 159 

The hall where such a show is held should be in 
some central location and not far from the rail- 
way station. Exhibitors can reach it more 
easily, and visitors will appreciate the con- 
venience. There should be no heat turned on 
in a hall where dahlias are to be shown. No 
matter how cold and uncomfortable the guests 
may be, the dahlias are first in consideration. 

The lighting of the show is of primary im- 
portance. No flower can look well with its back 
to the light, nor can the judges see to do their 
work properly. As the afternoon darkens and 
artificial light is resorted to, see that it is from 
above and in front of the flowers, yet high 
enough not to glare. 

Equally important to lighting is the proper 
background for the flowers. The frame for the 
picture must be made to show the picture to best 
advantage. Bare blank walls, unpainted tables, 
or those covered with clean but hideously un- 
sympathetic brown paper can never become a 
flower. Dark walls and tables decked with bur- 
lap of Nature's green will make each flower stand 
out with its own individuality. 

The average table is too low to show dahlias 
properly, unless the exhibitor chooses to reduce 
his beautiful flowers to that miserable ignominy 
resorted to in the old show days, when they 



160 The Amateur s Booh of the Dahlia 

chopped off their heads and stuck their necks 
in cream bottles set in rows. No man or woman 
who appreciates the beauty and dignity of a 
dahha will show them other than on the long 
stems which God gave them. 

The most effective way of arranging the ex- 
hibits is on two-tier frames, the lower front 
shelf being about four feet high and the rear 
shelf a foot higher, each shelf about eighteen 
inches wide, able to hold two rows of vases. The 
taller vase of each row, being behind, thus ar- 
ranges the blooms in four tiers, each showing 
just above the other. These shelves are merely 
two boards each of rough lumber laid on horses, 
which can be folded up and stored in small space 
when not in use. Cover them with dull-green 
burlap cut to fit. The covers can also be marked 
and folded away with the boards. 

As all this can be used year after year, the 
first cost is the only expense entailed. 

In most amateur shows, or shows held in 
smaller communities, the exhibitor supplies his 
own vases. If, however, the show committee 
supplies them, they can also be stored with the 
lumber and burlap. They should be tall and 
slender, of two heights, eight and twelve inches; 
purchased wholesale, they cost five cents a piece 
— no more than the hideous milk bottle. 



Dahlia Shows 161 

Each community has its own conditions which 
must govern the arrangement of classes for 
competition. One condition, however, exists in 
every place, and should be carefully provided 
for : there is always someone who has many more 
dahlias than any one else, and who possibly can 
afford to pay for more labour on the place and so 
gets better results. There are always lots of 
** little gardeners" who feel that they have no 
chance against such a person, and who are afraid 
to go into the game. These people love the 
dahlia just as much, usually spending more time 
and giving more personal attention to their gar- 
dens; and it is they who should be encouraged. 

Arrange the classes so that these people have 
an opportunity. There are many ways of doing 
this, but I am giving below a list of the classes 
arranged by the Short Hills Garden Club for its 
Exhibit in 1920: 

First, second, and third prizes for each class 
in every section. 

Section I 

Class 1. Cactus Dahlias. Any colour. 3 blooms, 1 

variety. 
'* 2. Hybrid Cactus Dahlias. Any colour. 3 

blooms, 1 variety. 

3. Decorative Dahlias. Any colour. 3 blooms, 

1 variety. 



162 The Amateurs Booh of the Dahlia 

Class 4. Peony-flowered Dahlias. Any colour. 3 
blooms, 1 variety. 
" 5. Single or Duplex Dahlias. Any colour. 3 

blooms, 1 variety. 
." 6. Any other type not provided above. Any 
colour. 3 blooms, 1 variety. 
Sweepstake Prize 



Section II 

Class 1. 3 Cactus Dahlias. 3 varieties. 

" 2. 3 Decorative Dahlias. 3 varieties. 

" 3. 3 Peony-flowered Dahlias. 3 varieties. 

" 4. 3 Dahlias. 3 varieties. 
Sweepstake Prize 



Section III 

Class 1. Seedling of 1920. 1 or more blooms, 1 
variety. 
" 2. Collection of seedlings of 1920. Any num- 
ber of blooms. 

Section IV 

Class 1. 3 Pink Dahlias. 3 varieties. 

" 2. 3 Lavender Dahlias. 3 varieties. 

" 3. 3 Yellow Dahlias. 3 varieties. 

" 4. 3 White Dahlias. 3 varieties. 

" 5. 3 Red Dahlias. 3 varieties. 

" 6. 3 Variegated Dahlias. 3 varieties. 
Sweepstake Prize 



Section V 

Class 1. 3 Pink Dahlias. 1 variety. 

" 2. 3 Lavender Dahlias. 1 variety. 

" 3. 3 Yellow DahHas. 1 variety. 



Dahlia Shows 163 

Class 4. 3 White Dahlias. 1 variety. 
" 5. 3 Red Dahlias. 1 variety. 
" 6. 3 Variegated Dahlias. 1 variety. 
Sweepstake Prize 

Section VI 

Class 1. Artistic Arrangement of Dahlias. Any foli- 
age or berries may be used. 

A couple of classes for the novice may make a 
happy addition: 

A. 3 Dahlias. 1 variety, any colour. 

B. 3 Dahlias. 3 varieties, any colour. 

giving a chance to someone who has never 
made an entry before. 

Under Section IV arrangements of dahlias can 

be subdivided into classes such as 

1. Vase or Bowl of Dahlias 

2. Basket of Dahlias 

3. Bouquet of Dahlias 

or classes for flower arrangements other than 
dahlias may be added. The Short Hills Garden 
Club has at all its shows a class for children's 
arrangements of wild flowers. These add va- 
riety and zest to the show, and give an oppor- 
tunity to those whose dahlias have failed. 

This schedule, modified or enlarged each year, 
has been much complimented by experts, and 
often copied by other societies and garden clubs. 
It gives the small gardener all the opportunity 
he needs. 



164 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

Any association affiliated with the American 
Dahlia Society receives a silver medal to be 
competed for at its local show. It should, of 
course, go to the exhibit which makes the best 
score of points. 

This aflSliation scheme, by the way, is most 
valuable to any garden club or local organiza- 
tion. The fee is but ten dollars, whatever the size 
of the club, and ten copies each of the quarterly 
bulletin of the society are sent to the club's sec- 
retary for distribution. The medal alone is worth 
the price, and proud indeed is the lucky winner. 

I have found that the average amateur covets 
a ribbon or trophy far more than any money 
prize. When arranging the schedule, remember 
that a person winning a first prize of three or 
five dollars has spent four or five times that 
amount to do so. Of course, the five dollars 
will buy the tuber of a new variety for next year; 
but the chances are that the money is slipped 
into the pocketbook and we forget to put it away 
for that purpose. 

Did you ever look through the trophy book of 
a real dahlia fan.^ Watch his eyes as he shows 
you his blue and red ribbons, and the exhibit 
cards with prize pasters on them. Locked se- 
curely in his cabinet are the medals which he 
shows you with exultant pride. In his den are 



Dahlia Shows 165 

the Certificates of Merit all neatly framed and 
valued above everything else, except, perhaps, 
his own hybrids themselves, now blooming in 
other gardens besides his own. 

First, second, and third prizes in ribbons in 
appropriate colours should be awarded in each 
class of each section of the schedule with a 
special '* Honourable Mention," if a fourth vase 
is worthy. A sweepstake prize in the form of a 
cup, vase, or other article should be given the 
exhibit which wins the highest number of points 
in its section. Such a prize is usually donated 
by a member of the garden club or organi- 
zation. Only an exhibit of merit should be 
awarded a prize. No prize should be awarded 
in any class having only poor exhibits placed 
therein, and at the discretion of the judges 
second and third prizes should be omitted where 
the exhibits are not up to the standard. 

If only one entry is exhibited in a class there is 
no competition, and therefore no award can be 
made. This does not debar the exhibit from 
competing for the sweepstake in that section. 

A grand prize is one which goes to the winner 
of the largest number of prizes or of sweepstakes. 
This is to encourage exhibitors to put in as many 
flowers in competition as possible. 

A prize, such as the medal of the American 



166 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

Dahlia Society, may be given to an exhibit which 
wins the highest number of points in the hall. 
It is sometimes called a grand sweepstake and 
is the highest honour which could be given. 

A prize should be awarded for the most 
meritorious exhibit in the show. It could be won 
by the finest collection of seedlings, or by a vase 
of a ''tested" dahlia — i. e., three years old, hy- 
bridized by the exhibitor, although maybe only 
placed in competition with others. 

It could be won by a potted dahlia plant 
placed in the hall as a "special" class, or by 
anything which denotes unusual effort and suc- 
cess. 

In planning a dahlia show one cannot begin 
too early — a whole year is not too soon. While 
the dahlias are blooming, future exhibitors can 
choose the varieties which they feel will bring 
them success. They can order them at that 
time with a certainty that they will be received 
in the spring; and the committee planning the 
show can get some idea what will be available, 
and arrange the classes to that end. 

Publicity plays an important part if the show 
is to be a success. Give everyone plenty of 
time to prepare for it. Do not, however, send 
the schedules out too far in advance; they are 
easily mislaid or overlooked when the day 



Dahlia Shows 167 

comes to fill out the blanks. Two weeks or less 
is plenty of time. 

Entry blanks should be made as simple as 
possible if the show is given in a community 
where the exhibitors are not accustomed to 
them. They are intended merely to give the 
committee an idea how much space to provide 
for the classes; whether there are to be three or 
fifty entries. To this end they should be re- 
turned a few days in advance of the show. The 
simplest entry blank merely contains the num- 
bers attached to the classes, with a request that 
the exhibitor draw a circle around each number in 
which class they expect to exhibit. (S^e^, p.l68.) 

The more common form has space provided 
for the name of the exhibit as well. {SeeB,p. 168.) 

The small entry fee may be asked to defray 
expenses if necessary. I have never known an 
exhibitor to begrudge a dollar for this purpose. 

Exhibit cards are a problem still to be solved in a 
satisfactory way. The old method of placing them 
in sealed envelopes until all judging is finished is 
both expensive and cumbersome. The better way 
is to have a plain paster laid over the exhibitor's 
name on the card, and on which the exhibitor's 
number has been written. This may be torn off 
after judging is finished, exposing the name. 

White exhibit cards are an eyesore. Brown or 



I desire to make entry in 


classes checked below 


at the Dahlia Show of the Short Hills Garden Club, 


to be held on 


September 30, 


1921, and enclose one 


dollar entry fee. 








Name 




Address 


Section 




Classes 




I 




2 3 4 5 


6 


II 




2 3 4 




III 




2 




IV 




2 3 4 5 


6 


V 




2 3 4 5 


6 





B 




I desire to make entry in classes as indicated below 
at the Dahlia Show of the Short Hills Garden Club, 
to be held on September 30, 1921, and enclose one 
dollar entry fee. 




Name 


Section No. 


Class No. 


Address 

Name of Class 



168 



Dahlia Shows 169 

dull green cards cost no more, and when printed 
clearly are just as legible. Have two holes 
punched at the top of each card and with a tie 
string attach it to its own vase. In this way the 
judges may move the vases about to compare 
varieties, without risk of losing the cards belong- 
ing to them. 



O O 

SHORT HILLS GARDEN CLUB 

Section 

Class 

Variety 

Exhibitor's Name 



In arranging the sections and classes about 
the hall have an eye for beauty. Do not place 
the class for lavender dahlias next to that for 
red ones. 

A class for peony dahlias may already have 
a vase of lavender Mme. Bij stein placed in it, 
and if someone should bring rose-pink Duchess 
of Brunswick ask him to put it as far from the 



170 The Amateur s Book of the Dahlia 

lavender as possible, arranging Queen Wilhel- 
mina or some other white between. 

The light cactus types do not look well beside 
the massive show or decoratives. Place the 
peony types between. Little pompons, on the 
other hand, do look well with the heavy ones, 
as it accentuates their daintiness. 

The points for judging dahlia exhibits as 
adopted by the American Dahlia Society should 
be invariably used at all dahlia shows. It helps 
to standardize the points of the flowers: 

POINTS 

Colour 20 

Stem and foliage 25 

Substance 15 

Form 20 

Size 20 



100 



Judges should each be provided with paper and 
pencil and carefully go over each exhibit, scoring 
carefully the faults. In no other way can the 
awards be justly made. They must abide 
strictly by the rules laid down by the show 
committee, disqualifying any exhibit, no matter 
how fine, which does not conform to all of them. 



Dahlia Slioios 171 

The exhibitor can in no other way learn to do it 
correctly. 

No one but the judges and members of the 
committee should be allowed in the hall at this 
time. It is distracting to the judges and unfair 
to the exhibitors. 

In the case of flower arrangements, it is wiser 
to have an entirely different set of judges. The 
points of the dahlia blooms are not as important 
as the general effect, and an artistic rather than a 
scientific eye is necessary for placing the awards. 

Table decorations and flower arrangements 
should be by themselves. The former as we see 
them at most of the shows are unsightly in a 
hall on account of the glaring white tablecloth 
supplied. Let me suggest giving the exhibitor 
a bare dark table, letting him supply his own 
covering, glass, and china. It will not take 
long to revolutionize these exhibits. Half the 
beauty of a table decoration is the arrangement 
of quaint china, unusual candlesticks, and soft- 
toned covering — either rough crash embroid- 
ered in dull colours, or old lace on mahogany. 
The flowers on the table can then be made to 
harmonize with their surroundings. 

Take, for example, a table decked with old 
Spanish china. Four twisted dull-green candle- 
sticks stand on the four corners of a brown linen 



172 The Amateur^ s Booh of the Dahlia 

centre cloth. In the centre is a low bowl of 
ancient Spanish lustre holding three or four rose- 
tinted dahlias and a few ferns. The dark wood 
of the bare table is relieved by the quaint service 
plates in green and lustre. One can talk across 
such a centrepiece, and the whole looks inviting 
for a friendly meal. How does it compare with 
the usual white cotton tablecloth, cheap china, 
plated candlesticks with pink shades which are 
provided; among which you are expected to place 
a tall vase holding a bunch of flowers looking for 
all the world like a feather duster, and at the 
base of which are arranged flowers to look like a 
funeral wreath .^^ 

Arrangements of flowers in bowls and baskets 
should, if possible, be placed on pedestals and 
tables of various heights, according to the 
manner in which they may be shown to best 
advantage. This gives a wider scope to the 
design for these arrangements. 

A tall urn holding a few large dahlias may have 
some showering, trailing vine, intended to hang 
below its base. This requires a high pedestal. 
A flat bowl with a few dainty blossoms needs 
to be on a lower level for closer inspection. 
Some massive arrangements in baskets may 
either be set on the floor or on a stand not more 
than two feet high. 



Dahlia Shows 173 

To the uninitiated, the placing of exhibits at a 
flower show as scheduled here is simple enough 
— ^maybe it is if you know how. 

Study the rules carefully, even before studying 
the schedule. Entries must be in before a certain 
date. Exhibits must be in place before a certain 
hour on the great day. Exhibit cards must be 
displayed with each vase, and every variety 
must be distinctly labelled with its correct name. 

If you have three blooms of Pierrot, for in- 
stance, which has reverted, as it frequently does, 
from its correct variegated form, to a plain 
colour, do not exhibit them under any circum- 
stances. If labelled "Pierrot" they will be 
judged according to the standard of the correct 
Pierrot and will certainly lose. 

Do not exhibit a decorative dahlia which shows 
a centre, either, among decoratives or among the 
peony -flowered types. It will also be judged ac- 
cording to the correct type of decorative, and 
disqualified. 

Most people become colour blind in their ex- 
citement just before a show. I have known a 
gardener to place Attraction in the class of pink 
dahlias. As it happened, the three blooms were 
the finest on the table — of perfect form, of equal 
size, and had they been placed in their proper 
class, would have scored 100 per cent. But 



174 The Amateur s Booh of the Dahlia 

they are lavender, not pink, and had to be dis- 
quahfied ! 

When staging a dahlia exhibit be sure that 
all the flowers of one variety are of equal size and 
merit. If a class calls for three blooms of one 
variety, do not put in two huge blooms of perfect 
form and one of mediocre quality. It is better 
to put in three medium-sized flowers, all of equal 
value. Another important thing to remember 
is that a bud showing colour is a flower. An 
exhibit of three blooms, one of which has a bud 
attached, showing colour, is really a vase of four 
blooms. Such an exhibit is disqualified if placed 
in a class calling for three blooms. Dahlias, prop- 
erly grown, should have been disbudded, so there 
is no excuse for the presence of the bud, anyway. 

When exhibiting in a class of more than one 
variety of dahlias in one vase, have pity on the 
judges and the visitors. Do not put pinks and 
bright yellows, purples and reds together. Such 
an exhibit can be judged only by points, and 
under stress of circumstance might even win an 
award; but the comments of both judges and visi- 
tors may not bear repetition. 

You will find that in spite of the hard-and-fast 
rules of judging by points, an exhibit well staged 
will hold the attention of the judges and has a 
much better chance for an award than one which 



Dahlia Shows 175 

is poorly set up. Where but three or four flowers 
are needed, face them all directly toward you. 
Three or more should be arranged so that some 
stand above the others, placing them in a group 
rather than in a row. They should be firmly 
held in place in the vases, yet not strangled. A 
bit of excelsior tucked in between the stems will 
hold them well. Put most of it in front, shoving 
the stems back, holding the heads well up. 
Some people use paper, but I find that it becomes 
saturated quickly and loses its grip. Do not use 
old leaves and stems. They decay and poison 
the water, and your beautiful flowers soon be- 
come wilted. 

If foliage is permitted in the vases, as in the 
show of the American Dahlia Society, choose 
what will best act as a background and what 
will be most becoming to the flower, bringing out 
its best points rather than that which will only 
make a pretty arrangement. Remember that it 
is the dahlia which is to be judged. 

In placing your vase of dahlias in its group or 
class, try to choose its neighbours, so that both 
colour and form m*ay be enhanced. Bring your 
flowers early so that you may have plenty of 
time to arrange them, and remain in the room 
until the judging commences, to see that your 
exhibits are not pushed out of the way. 



176 The Amateur^ s Booh of the Dahlia 

There is always one bone of contention which 
comes up at every flower show. It is that 
flexible line drawn between the amateur and the 
professional. 

We amateurs are dreadfully afraid of the 
professional when it comes to competition. They 
loom up in our thoughts like a bugaboo. We 
who dig in our own gardens dare not compete 
with a man who has acres of dahlias and an army 
of men to cultivate them. We argue that we 
do not have a fair chance against such odds. 
Yet if we went to some of the meetings of 
florists' clubs, we would be surprised to hear 
these very professionals argue that they cannot 
compete with an amateur because they have 
not the time to bring their blooms to such 
perfection! They must take care of thousands 
when the amateur may have only a dozen on 
which they spend all their time, thought, and 
money ! 

Then comes the everlasting question, ''What 
is an amateur?" The American Dahlia Society 
has adopted the following rule: "An amateur 
gardener is one who does all the. work in the 
garden except the plowing or spading, and who is 
not engaged in gardening as a livelihood." Those 
who employ men to do the work, and who ex- 
pend their thought and their money upon the 



Dahlia Shows 177 

garden, entirely for pleasure, are amateur gar- 
deners as well ; but are considered by the Ameri- 
can Dahlia Society as private growers, and a 
special section is provided for them. The 
"little gardener" who digs in his own garden 
has far less opportunity against these large 
estates than against the professional. It is for 
this reason that I have recommended the simple 
schedule of small classes for the average com- 
munity show. 

An amateur does not lose his or her standing 
by selling surplus stock and purchasing new 
varieties with the money. This is not being 
"engaged in gardening as a livelihood." Sur- 
plus stock often is exchanged for something 
coveted in a neighbour's garden, but if your 
neighbour does not chance to have what you 
long for, or does not happen to need what you 
have for exchange, there can be no harm in selling 
what would otherwise go to waste, and with the 
money purchase what you w^ish. The "little 
gardener," who is an amateur in the truest sense 
of the word, can never hope to possess the ex- 
pensive new varieties in any other way. 

In local communities it is never wise to allow 
amateurs and professionals to compete against 
one another. It is a disadvantage to both; 
nevertheless, the professional should by no means 



178 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

be excluded entirely, even from a show which is 
strictly amateur. 

At the shows of the Short Hills Garden Club a 
limited amount of space is allowed at the dis- 
cretion of the committee to each local pro- 
fessional in good standing who applies well in 
advance; where he may put up an exhibit of new 
and rare varieties not for competition. If such 
an exhibit is of special merit, a gratuitous ribbon 
award is made for the sake of encouragement. 
Such exhibits are of great interest to the visitors 
and are profitable to the dealer, who may take 
orders for roots to be delivered in the spring. 

The United States Department of Agriculture, 
Bureau of Plant Industry, issued in 1919 a most 
excellent paper by Mr. F. L. Mulford on "Horti- 
cultural Exhibitions and Garden Competitions," 
called "Circular No. 62." Every garden club 
should have it in its library, as all the advice is 
excellent and put in the simplest language. 



CHAPTER XIII 

COLOUR COMBINATIONS IN THE GARDEN AND AS 
HOUSE DECORATIONS 

UNFORTUNATELY, too many people grow 
dahlias as collections only, planted in the 
kitchen garden or behind the barn or anywhere 
the soil seems suitable. The borders are seldom 
resplendent with them at a time when they are 
in dire need of colour. How many dahlia gar- 
dens are there which are planned and planted 
with a deliberate intent at colour harmony and 
decorative effect.^ 

The stumbling block in the minds of most 
people to the planning of a dahlia garden is 
that the ground is bare in the early spring and so 
becomes an eyesore. This can easily be over- 
come by judicious foreground planting. One of 
my dahlia gardens is situated just beyond and 
below the rose garden. Its beds are edged with 
small boulders quite hidden with creeping 
phlox, through which nearly fifty varieties of the 
rarest narcissi appear each spring, some thou- 
sands in number. In June, when the "daffy" 

179 



180 The Amateur^ s Booh of the Dahlia 

leaves turn yellow and die, and the bare stakes 
have been set in place, the climbing roses which 
drape the cedar posts and chains, marking the 
boundary of the rose garden, are all aglow with 
pink and white and red and yellow. The tall 
''perpetuals" reach up to meet the climbers and 
the little tea roses bring the colour down almost 
to the stone paths, edged with sweet alyssum and 
tiny sedums. The bloom at that time is so 
glorious, no one has a thought for what may be 
behind it; and when July comes and the roses 
flag, the dahlias have made headway enough to 
show a good green background. 

By the first of August, the "old wood" of the 
climbing roses has been cut out, and a few of the 
dahlias not destined for exhibition purposes have 
been allowed to bloom. Their smiling faces peep 
at us over the roses and we are invited to come 
out and enjoy them. 

My *' trial garden" is seen beyond a sweep of 
lawn. It is thirty-five feet wide and is inter- 
spersed with a few laurel bushes which dis- 
creetly keep their feet under their petticoats and 
never encroach upon the domain of others. In 
the foreground are low-growing shrubs — none 
more than three and a half feet high, planned 
to give bloom in the spring and fruit in the 
autumn. In front of these are peonies, the old- 



Colour Combinations for Garden and House 181 

fashioned kind without names, so far as I 
know, which every year give a wealth of deHcate 
pink blooms in spite of neglect, while phlox Miss 
Lingard blooms abundantly there also. By 
breaking off the tops of the passe flower heads 
more flowers quickly form on the side shoots, 
causing them to bloom from July to mid-October. 
In front of these are veronica, Achilles' pearls, 
stachys, sedums, etc., with here and there a 
summer cypress to blend with the autumn tones 
of the background. 

The background slopes up toward a distant 
hillside, resplendent in dogwood and sumac. 
A few "smoke trees," some tall bamboo and 
pampas, make the frame ready for the picture 
when it comes. Looking across the lawn the 
foreground shrubs completely hide the bare earth 
of the dahlia beds from view. The laurel when 
in bloom seems to become part of the woodland 
beyond, and no one can suspect what is in 
store. 

White and pink and palest yellow dahlias 
bloom where the phlox and achillea may snuggle 
at their feet. Sedums and summer cypress tone 
in with those of autumn tints, but being only a 
trial garden it is not possible to plan a very 
definite colour scheme. 

The colours of but a few dahlias will quarrel 



182 The Amateur'' s Booh of the Dahlia 

with one another. Only the lavenders must be 
kept apart, and strong yellows should not go 
near the pinks. Mass planting for distant effect 
allows many colours to rub elbows where close 
proximity of paths and walks could not. In this 
trial garden go "two-year-olds " — seedlings of the 
year before, both my own and those of growers 
from other parts of the country. There also go 
strangers from foreign lands whose colours are 
unknown to me further than the descriptions 
given by their originators. Woe to any whose 
pink turns blue or whose white turns green in 
soil and climate to which they are not ac- 
customed ! Like Alice's Red Queen, the word is 
"Off with his head"! But if they behave prop- 
erly they will be allowed in the real dahlia gar- 
den next year. 

On a cold and stormy night next November, 
when the roots have been put to bed and their 
spring breakfast prepared for them, pull your 
chair up to the fire. Bring out the list of what 
you have, and the list of those you saw at the 
shows — and, perhaps, have already ordered. 
Group these lists together under headings of 
their colours and subdivisions of colours. The 
deep red, bright red, old rose, bronze, and brown; 
golden yellow (very few), sulphur yellow, orange 



Colour Combinations for Garden and House 183 

and blendings of all — these are the autumn 
tints. Then there are the clear pinks (very few), 
soft pinks, and iridescent pinks, the pure glisten- 
ing whites, those with a greenish tinge, or a 
pinkish, or maybe a tint of yellow at the base of 
the petals. Last are the lavenders and purples 
which can only associate with white. Few 
lavenders keep a pure colour in hot weather, and 
when the weather turns cold they acquire a 
pinkish tone. 

They all, however, make a beautiful picture 
when grown with white dahlias or those of 
palest corn colour. In the mixed border use the 
gray-green foliage of sea lavender, stachys, white 
mullein-pink, and double gypsophila whose gray 
stems and dried flowers make a beautiful cloud. 
Bocconia and meadow rue and white statice 
may be set between the plants. Their roots run 
downward and take no nourishment from their 
neighbours. Snow-on-the-mountain, white pe- 
tunias, and white giant zinnias may be used as 
fillers around and in front. St. Egwin aster or 
white phlox, used with care, not to allow either 
of them too much headway, makes a touch be- 
tween the taller and the lower kinds; and be- 
tween the edging of stachys, mullein-pink, etc., 
tuck in a few plants of heliotrope or sweet 
alyssum and Stokes' asters. It is possible, down 



184 The Amateur s Booh of the Dahlia 

around their feet, to plant a touch of palest 
pink — godetia, sweet balsam, petunia. 

There are not many lavenders of dependable 
colour. Bianca, a beautiful hybrid cactus, 
Shudow's Lavender, and Mme. Bijstein have 
never failed for me. They are free flowering 
and graceful. Millionaire and Lucy Langdon, 
one large, the other medium sized but always 
covered with bloom, are liable to have white 
centres in the hot weather, but when nights be- 
come cool again are a wonderful shade of pinkish 
lavender. Attraction, the aristocrat of all laven- 
ders, is for most people a shy bloomer, but the 
refinement of the bloom and grace of its carriage 
well repays the space it may take. When Le 
Grand Manitou turns truly purple he is glorious; 
and with Meyerbeer, though of pendulous habit, 
also J. K. Alexander, can make the dark touch in 
the picture. 

Clear pink is the rarest of colours in a dahlia. 
There is but one truly clear pink, a charming 
medium-sized decorative called Delice. Of 
French origin, it has been a favourite for many 
years. Newport Wonder, a giant single, runs it 
a close second, and Crystal, an incurved cactus, 
free and graceful, though tipped with white, is 
almost spring-like in its airy daintiness. In the 
mixed border plant them with boltonia, with 



Colour Combinations for Garden and House 185 

feverfew and white lupines. Add pale pinks 
and gray about their feet, mixed with alyssum. 
There are white mignon or Tom Thumb dahlias 
which add cheer at the feet of the tall ones. Pink 
mignons are inclined to have a purplish tinge in 
most soils, but the white ones add greatly to 
either the pink or the lavender beds. 

When the pinks are to be combined only with 
other dahlias use Hortulanus Fiet, Crystal, or 
Niebelungenhort combined with the whites of 
Madonna behind and Snowdrift (Broomall) in 
front. These pinks are of medium height, while 
Madonna stands tall and stately and Snowdrift 
is of stocky growth. Between them place 
Csecelia or Melody or J. Harrison Dick, all of the 
palest yellow, loose-petalled, graceful, and free. 

Nearly all good pink dahlias, in order to shut 
out the lavender tone, have a bit of yellow in 
their blood. This accounts for the sympathy 
they seem to have for any yellow which does not 
kill them outright. 

Reds are the hardest to manage — so difficult 
are they, that some with a sensitive eye will have 
none of them in the garden. The autumn bor- 
der, however, having vivid red blended with 
orange and bronze, softened by golden yellows, 
is exhilarating to behold, yet restful to the eye. 
Here, also, one has almost unlimited choice, and 



186 The Amateur s Booh of the Dahlia 

accidental neighbours often make charming as- 
sociates. With them may be grown gaillardia, 
sneezeweed, zinnia, nasturtium, annual poinc- 
ettia; even the African marigold melts into the 
picture. 

Tenderest recollections have I of a dear garden 
now gone, which possessed at a secluded end a 
Red Walk. A stately double row of tall Kath- 
erine Duer and Kalif flanked each side of a wide 
path. In front there grew vivid cannas, blood 
red in hue, without a hint of brick. At their 
feet grew the humble red geranium of like pure 
tone, softened by the green of peony foliage just 
turning as it dies. It was not intended as a 
place to linger and sit. One walked through it 
with military step — exalted. 

Red dahlias, grown en masse, looked at from 
across a sweep of lawn, make a stunning picture. 
Place them in front of a row of "purple fringe," 
now gone to seed, with red-berried dogwood as a 
background — or if you are fortunate enough to 
have a planting of sugar maples and a silver 
maple or two your picture is already painted. 

Old rose, like rare wine, should be treated 
with respect. If pure in tone, these dahlias 
should be planted with soft grays and dull white. 
Boltonia again will lighten the upper part of the 
picture, and some of the grays used with laven- 



Colour Combinations for Garden and House 187 

der will make a suitable foreground planting. 
There are some tones of old rose, such as Emily 
D. Renwiek and George Walters, which have a 
golden sheen. These may be planted with soft 
yellow, choosing only the forms which look well 
with one another. 

Cerise red and cerise pink look best with white. 
They are so vivid that unless treated carefully 
they make too sharp a note in the landscape. 

Next rarest to the pinks are the pure golden- 
yellow dahlias — the yellow of an old-fashioned 
Persian rose. There are lemon yellows, sulphur 
yellows, and many shades of orange which, 
strangely enough, will not agree in the garden. 
Choose your yellows carefully, and never trust a 
catalogue description. Plant them with deeper 
shades or variegated, where they will be hap- 
piest. Yellow Hammer, though a shy bloomer, 
a true cactus dahlia, is the best in colour, though 
singularly enough, an unsympathetic flower is 
grown alone. Sulphur yellows, such as Mrs. 
Richard Lohrman, massive in form, and always 
covered with bloom, cannot associate with any- 
thing but white or deep purple. It is those that 
are softened with a glow of pink which will blend 
with bronze or fawn or even red. Take, for 
example, that variable Dutchman, King of the 
Autumn. He agrees with nearly every dahlia. 



188 The Amateur s Book of the Dahlia 

Planted in a mass of twenty or more in the cor- 
ner of the shrubbery, he will turn a gray day into 
bright sunshine. Plant at his feet a mass of 
dwarf nasturtiums, chosen for their yellows, and 
you will have a never-ending joy. 

Plant dainty Melody (Stredwick) together 
with Pierrot. Their graceful nodding heads on 
tall slender stalks look well behind a clump of 
common meadow rue. The rue will throw up 
fresh stalks of golden-orange flakes every time 
they are cut down, and their fernlike foliage quite 
covers the ground. 

Pale yellows tone well with the purples. A 
bushy clematis, Davidiana, about four feet high 
and covered with deep purple flowers in Septem- 
ber, makes fine contrast to most of them, and if 
between the edgings of alyssum or yellow violas 
a few plants of deep heliotrope are set we can- 
not ask for a more dignified combination. 

The yellows variegated with brown or red 
or fawn can be planted almost anywhere to- 
gether. They can have as associates rud- 
beckia, sunflowers, sneezeweed. Blanket Flower, 
blazing star, flame flower, annual poincettia, 
African marigolds, and may be edged by French 
marigolds and pot marigolds, even carefully 
chosen portulaca. Tone the colour scheme 
down, however, with judicious planting of green. 



Colour Combinations for Garden and House 189 

Dahlias of dull fawn, of dove colour, of gen- 
tle iridescent pinks all keep company in happy 
mood. Keep the background dark in tone — ^high 
shrubs at a distance, and the palest of foreground 
sets them off to best advantage. 

In planting dahlias together, form and habit 
must be taken into consideration as well as 
colour. A great massive decorative is too over- 
powering for a dainty cactus or a gentle peony. 
There are smaller decoratives which are well offset 
by a large cactus or peony. Singles should be 
set apart from all other types and look better 
among herbaceous perennials than when planted 
alone. Little Tom Thumb or single Mignons 
add greatly to the charm when set at their feet, 
among other flowers or foliage of soft cloudy 
effect. Collarettes should be treated as are the 
singles, but seldom look well if planted with them. 
White singles and white collarettes with yellow 
centres planted with Michaelmas daisies make a 
combination never to be forgotten. Pompons 
are seldom an artistic success in the border, 
though there are exceptions when they are heavy 
bloomers, or where much colour is not needed. 

It is a mistake to think that varieties which 
are principally used for exhibition purposes are 
unsuitable for the garden or mixed border. 
Most of those I have already mentioned are 



190 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

prize winners at some of the largest exhibitions, 
and they may be cultivated and disbudded in 
the border just as well as in the patch behind 
the barn. They like each other's company and 
do better in the border if planted in groups of 
three or more; but it is in the true dahlia garden, 
carefully planned, well prepared and planted, 
that the finest of all flowers unfolds her beauty 
and does herself full justice. 

There need be no limit set to design or colour 
scheme. There are dahlias of every habit — 
some so tall that they may be made to climb, 
and some so low that they almost seem to creep. 
There are six sevenths of the rainbow to choose 
from — more hues than even the rose may 
boast of — and every combination of colour in 
twos, threes, and even fours. There is no 
flower known which has as many forms of bloom, 
each lending its own individuality to the garden 
or the decoration. 

The pompons, for many years almost unknown 
to the gardeners, have found themselves again. 
Though not so well adapted to the border, they 
are invaluable as a dinner-table decoration. 
Gretchen Heine, for instance, one of the few 
flecked dahlias which I personally care for, is a 
delicate pale pink, touched on the edges with a 
deeper pink. Set into a pale blue bowl with a 



Colour Combinations for Garden and House 191 

cloud of clematis panniculata, there is nothing 
more dainty and spring-like in September. It 
may also be combined with some of the little 
"Star" singles, set in a white bowl on a teak- 
wood stand with a few sprays of clematis gone 
to seed. 

Then there are the pale yellow pompons 
Gannymede, tinted pink, or Little Beeswing. 
Combine them with deep blue spires of veronica 
in a vase of golden Ruskin pottery. Add the 
foliage of rue if you have no maidenhair. 

The airy singles, always lovable and human, 
look well in baskets of eighteenth-century design. 
St. Egwin aster grouped with some of the clear 
pinks makes a charming combination. 

Many people condemn the silver vase for any 
flowers, but I still maintain that they are beau- 
tiful with flowers that become them. Place 
lavender Mme. Bijstein and white Queen 
Wilhelmina, together with gray foliage from the 
gray border, in a tall silver vase. Set them be- 
fore a velvet curtain of deepest sapphire blue and 
see if a silver vase is not beautiful. 

Once, when a dahlia show had used up all my 
vases, and I had nothing else but a tall silver urn 
to hold the dahlias for the drawing room, I stood 
before it with an armful of J. Harrison Dick and 
wondered if I dared. Into it they had to go, 



192 The Amateur s Book of the Dahlia 

pale corn-coloured, upright heads, and the show- 
ering back petals touched with palest lavender. 
Something was needed to blend the yellow with 
the silver and looking through the window, St. 
Egwin aster called to me. Just try that com- 
bination. 

Copper jars, not too brightly polished, will 
hold the autumn tints. ' Use sumac and the 
brown leaves of bracken, and the copper will 
take up the reflection. Bronzed oak leaves 
may be used with the more massive types, while 
red-berried dogwood and the crimson shoots of 
young Virginia Creeper do better for the more 
delicate cactus varieties. Tall pampas grass will 
lighten the effect with hybrid cactus. 

There is a grape which clambers over wall and 
fences all about our place, from early spring 
until the killing frost. It is indispensable to me 
for house decorations. Some people call it 
variegated vitis. In the early summer, the ten- 
der shoots of palest pink, bearing tiny pink 
leaves, rosy tendrils, and minute fragrant blos- 
soms, add to the charm of every group of flowers. 
During the hot weather the small deeply cut 
leaves of dull gray, here and there touched with 
pink or pale yellow, melt in with any flower I 
choose; but its full glory comes in September 
when its branches are laden with berries of 



Colour Combinations for Garden and House 193 

brilliant turquoise blue. The young shoots with 
leaves always flecked with pink, or wholly pink, 
drape gracefully over bowls or vases or baskets, 
softening the edges as only nature can. The 
turquoise blue in strong contrast with small pale 
yellow dahlias in a dark bronze Japanese bowl 
makes a picture of which any Japanese might 
be proud. 

Any one possessing a jar of unglazed and un- 
decorated Indian pottery is indeed fortunate. In 
it place one or two dahlias of any shade of pink or 
yellow with a trailing spray of this berried grape. 

Vases for dahlias should be opaque. Stems 
stripped of their leaves are not beautiful to 
look at, and must be hidden. But vases, 
though necessarily forming part of the picture, 
must be inconspicuous — must form part of the 
background as it were. Bowls are suitable only 
for small dahlias, such as the smiling "Star," 
or Annette Reynault, or Effective, and the little 
pompons, etc. A mass effect in a great jardiniere 
of copper or dull old pottery should only be 
placed for distant effect in a room plenty large 
enough, or it will be overpowering. 

The most effective way to arrange large ones 
is in something tall and slender — only a few 
at a time, for the individual bloom is so beautiful 
that it is a pity not to have each show to best 



194 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

advantage. Group the types together, but not 
more than two varieties in the average vase 
when the blooms have any individuahty. AU 
ways have the stems as long as possible in 
proportion to the size of the bloom. A dahlia 
eight to twelve inches across should have a stem 
three feet long at least. 

If you have Delice, arrange it in a dull-green 
vase with deep-purple heliotrope. If you have 
Ballet Girl, arrange it with Statice — in fact, use 
Statice all you can with the pale cactus types. 
Lay blooms of Crystal in a gray-blue bowl; 
again use statice and maidenhair rue. Place 
Valliant or Kalif in black glass or darkest bronze. 
Add deep-bronze oak leaves and a touch of 
berried dogwood. Insulinde, Princess Pat, and 
dahlias of upright habit need but little "trim- 
mings" save to soften the lines of the vase itself. 

Through some accident maybe one of your 
finest blossoms will have been whipped from its 
stem. Do not weep and throw it away. Use 
your black glass bowl and float it on the surface 
of the water, adding ferns also floating, and a 
few in an upright holder. Put it under a table- 
lamp so that the light may shine directly upon 
it, and the whole room will be filled with that 
dahlia, radiating its colour and its cheer among 
all the occupants. 



CHAPTER XIV 

VARIETIES IN ALIEN SOIL AND CLIMATE 

THE dahlia is a paradox. There is no flower 
which can be more accommodating to soil 
and climate; yet there is none so temperamental 
when it is pleased or displeased with its food and 
surroundings. 

A variety may change its colour like a chame- 
leon. Some behave like veritable Doctor Jekylls 
and Mr. Hydes, changing form and habit to suit 
their own tastes. Sometimes a variety grown 
in England would not recognize its twin sister 
grown in some parts of the United States. A 
variety bred in California may hardly be recog- 
nizable grown in Colorado. It all depends on 
soil and climate. 

There is no state in the Union that does not 
boast of a dahlia garden somewhere within its 
boundary. From northern Florida to south- 
ern Alaska they grow in profusion. Tiny cot- 
tages on the hillsides of Porto Rico and our new- 
est acquisition, the Virgin Islands, are ablaze in 
late summer with them. On the mountain 

195 



196 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

slopes of the Philippines, dahhas, escaped from 
cultivation, are trying to be Acocotli in a new 
land. In India and Ceylon they have also run 
wild in the highlands. Wherever white man has 
settled he has brought his dahlias with him and 
they have thrived. 

In South Africa, in South America, in New 
Zealand, and Australia they are coming into their 
own. In China and Japan they grow abund- 
antly, and the Japanese have commenced to hy- 
bridize them. What dahlias may be made to do 
in the hands of these magicians there is no tell- 
ing. The hardier, more common forms will 
grow almost anywhere in spite of neglect, but 
where there is an abundance of fresh air and 
water, the finest varieties of dahlias may be made 
to thrive, provided that they receive intelligent 
care. It is only the fastidious connoisseur who 
will notice the changes wrought by climate and 
soil. To the rest of the world dahlias are dahlias 
and are beautiful — and that is enough. 

There are soils and climates which agree so 
well with them that with the most ordinary 
care they far outstrip other localities not so fa- 
voured. These other people must use food and 
moisture to compete in the battle for honours 
— but it can be done nevertheless. 

The Pacific Coast, the garden spot of our land. 



Varieties in Alien Soil and Climate 197 

undoubtedly has the victory over the rest of us, 
both in the size and profusion of bloom. There, 
on account of the long, cool growing season, 
causing an easy production of late seeds, hy- 
bridization has made the greatest strides. With 
but two or possibly three exceptions the growers 
there strive almost exclusively for the heavy 
decorative and hybrid cactus types. It is only 
lately that a few of them have put new blood and 
some backbone into the incurved cactus types, 
giving them the strength of stem necessary to 
hold up their heads and reveal their beauty. 
But with that backbone comes a shorter and 
less twisted petal than those from our cousins 
across the sea. 

The general complaint against these incurved 
cactus types from England has been the weak 
stem, unable to bear the weight of the bloom. 
Some, indeed, seem to have a stem deliberately 
curved downward, rigidly holding the bloom like 
a tassel. The plum-coloured Dorothy Hawes, 
for instance, has a long stem for all the world 
like the symbol of the square root in our algebra 
books (i/). Pierrot, Valiant, Melody, all hang 
their heads, yet their habit of growth and their 
delicate foliage compensate for this, and by dis- 
budding and cutting them with very long stems 
they are unsurpassed for house decoration. 



198 The Amateur^ s Booh of the Dahlia 

Lately, the English, also, have succeeded in 
putting backbone into their incurved cactus, 
keeping the slender petals of the type. British 
Lion, of Pierrot colouring, holds his head aloft, 
and looking at him you can almost see him 
switch his tail! The petals twist and interlace 
far more than do those of Pierrot, however, and 
seldom do they show a tip of white. The new 
Miss Margaret Stredwick, a glorious pink, is 
probably at this date the finest incurved cactus 
dahlia known, for with all the perfect points of 
colour and form it has a stem almost as strong 
as a walking-stick. 

It is a comfort to see weak-stemmed varieties 
losing favour. It means that the short-stem- 
in-a-milk-bottle exhibits will soon be a thing 
of the past, and the dahlia will be seen at the 
shows only in its own true dignity. 

Just a few years ago the dahlia world was set 
agog by a wonderful pure-white peony dahlia of 
great size called South Pole. Glistening like 
the snows of its namesake, four times the size of 
Queen Wilhelmina, which was even then beginning 
to show deterioration, it was sought after by all. 
I shall never forget the first bloom which opened 
in my garden. Twelve inches across it was, but 
with a stem which deliberately grew into an 
inverted V (a)- It never bloomed there 



Varieties in Alien Soil and Climate 199 

another season — and seldom is it seen in the 
catalogues of to-day. 

Shortly after that came Riesen Edelweiss, a 
truly beautiful white peony, into whose face one 
could look and whose purity, fine substance, and 
form won admiration everywhere. It, too, seems 
to have disappeared, as it was born in 1914 on the 
banks of the Rhine ; but it deserves a better fate 
in spite of its heritage. 

Many of the whites from foreign lands do not 
do well in this country. Ivory White and 
Frances White become quite green in some 
localities where the sun is hot, while Duffryn, an 
especially fine white cactus from England, and 
the decorative Polar Star, show no such ten- 
dency. Madonna, on the other hand, behaved 
beautifully when she first came over; a refined, 
pure-white flower called decorative, yet — except 
that she shows no centre — has all the gentle 
grace of a peony. The past two years in many 
parts of New Jersey Madonna has had temerity 
to blush! — but is no less beautiful, for all that. 

The white dahlias from our own country are 
far ahead of those from overseas. For ten 
years or more hybridizers have struggled to 
produce a pure-white cactus dahlia which does 
not modestly hide its head among the foliage. 
It seems to have come at last, for there is no 



200 Tlie Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

white dahlia growing to-day which can in any 
way compare with Gladys Sherwood, a pure- 
white hybrid cactus of great size and substance. 
The slightly incurved petals give it an effect of 
delicacy and refinement in spite of its size, and 
the fact that it is large and holds its bloom a 
long time on the plant makes amends for the fact 
that there are not many at a time — there simply 
isn't room ! 

Another wonderful white, a decorative, free 
and prolific and of fairly large size, is Mrs. 
Henrietta W. Struck, sometimes called Purity. 
It gleams like icicles on the plant and under no 
circumstances turns either green or pink. 

Some of the reds, which the English term 
''Hunter's pink," are nearly hopeless in our hot 
sun. Men have struggled with this colour in all 
flowers for generations, but ''burn" it will, 
nevertheless. The old favourite, Katherine Duer, 
might be said to be the best, but it is such a late 
bloomer that I fancy it is only that which saves 
it. So late a bloomer it is that in many localities 
it never has an opportunity, for Jack Frost rings 
down the curtain before she has any chance to 
follow cue and make her bow. For this reason 
the variety is seldom listed. . 

Creation might be said to stand the sun 
pretty well. The colour is fine, though the form 



Varieties in Alien Soil and Climate 201 

is mediocre. I have found it to be an excellent 
seed-parent — the second generation having pro- 
duced flowers on which I am building great 
hopes. 

There is no doubt that only the primary shade 
of red will remain true at all times. Any dahlia 
of red overlaid with another colour is one which 
varies with the soil and climate. Take, for 
example, that glorious brown-rose Princess Pat. 
In the gardens of California and of the central 
and southeastern states it is always the same 
brown-rose. In the North; in Oregon and 
Washington, in Maine and in Canada and in 
England, it is overlaid with a distinctly violet 
tone, making the flower almost unrecognizable, 
except for its unusual form and habit. 

Any red of the brick variety toward the end 
of the season, when the sun is low and the days 
are short, becomes a sickly, washed-out orange. 
Have you observed that noisy Gustav Douzon 
by mid-October.^ He has shouted the red en- 
tirely out of his system, becoming only part of 
the sombre background of russet. 

Where red is variegated with white or with 
yellow the tendency is to go back to the red. 
Ballet Girl, a fluffy cactus of white with the base 
of the petals in red, will throw out one pure-red 
flower to two of the type. Geisha plays havoc 



202 The Amateur s Book of the Dahlia 

with her colours, but many plain reds are to be 
found on her plants, while plain yellows — never. 

Orange variegated with red reverts to a plain 
orange most of the time. Pierrot, so charming 
when true, is a flagrant sinner in this direction, 
also disliking to show its white finger tips. 

It is easy enough to breed a yellow dahlia if one 
is not particular as to the shade of yellow. Both 
the wild dahlias and the hybrids have a strong 
tendency toward the sulphur yellow — some- 
times even with a greenish tinge. The pure gold 
in a dahlia is almost as rare as the pure gold in 
the earth; though once it is there it is there to 
stay. 

I remember many years ago I exhibited at the 
Short Hills Show three enormous yellow blooms 
from tubers sent to me by a friend in Wiltshire, 
England. They were some of the first of the 
English incurved cactus types of a pale sulphur 
yellow with drooping tired heads, and were 
distinctly labelled with their correct name, Glory 
of Wilts. They were very unusual then, and I 
was very proud of them until I heard a visitor 
remark: "Well, I guess they named that one 
right!" Those drooping heads were never seen 
in my garden again. 

Yellows overlaid with pink usually have a 
soft iridescence and warmth of tone. Without 



Varieties in Alien Soil and Climate 203 

it a dahlia — Yellow Hammer, for instance — 
seems to be moulded out of butter. 

There are two yellow cactus dahlias with white 
tips, both named Melody. One came from 
Stredwick in England, the other from Peacock 
in New Jersey. Both revert to plain yellow and 
are as like as twins. Cockatoo is another, but 
of hybrid type. Sea-horse also is a hybrid 
cactus from California of exactly the same 
colouring and tendency to revert. In fact, one 
might say that a variegated dahlia is a glorified 
Dahlia Variabilis. Sooner or later they revert 
to the colour of which they contain the greatest 
amount of pigment. Mabel B. Taft,, a sub- 
stantial yellow decorative, is distinctly overlaid 
with pink, while Mrs. Richard Lohrman, a 
monstrous yellow hybrid cactus, has none of it 
and ranks among the sulphur-yellow dahlias. 

Lavender is a ticklish colour to handle at all 
times, but more so with dahlias because they 
do not want to be lavender. There are a few, 
however, which have proven their worth. The 
oldest, called Libelle, of the size and form of 
Kremhilda, is still a favourite with many. It 
is small, dainty, and free-flowering but not stead- 
fast in its colour. 

Bianca, perhaps, ranks first a pure, true 
lavender hybrid cactus, intense in the cooler 



204 The Amateur s Booh oj the Dahlia 

Northern states and where soil is exceptionally 
sweet; pale and delicate in hotter places, but 
steadfast in its colour and free in bloom. 
Madame Van Bij stein, whose foreign ancestry- 
is unquestioned, ranks a close second. A re- 
fined, graceful peony dahlia of exceptionally free- 
flowering habit and of medium size. She is 
very amenable to our moulding touch, and by 
strict disbudding will achieve great size, and 
sometimes become decorative in form. 

Attraction, conceded by all to be the finest of 
the lavenders, is a shy bloomer and is often 
nearly pink in colour. A so-called hybrid cactus 
of exquisite refinement with frilled petals and long, 
strong stem which carries the bloom well above 
the foliage, whether pink or lavender, it at least 
is never magenta, and is beautiful at all times. 

The lavender decoratives, of which, perhaps, 
the Millionaire on account of its great size is the 
most conspicuous, seldom do themselves justice 
in any but a cool climate. During our hot 
summer days the pigment is inclined to concen- 
trate itself in the outer petals, leaving the centre 
almost pure white. When cool days come, 
however, their colour and texture resemble a 
silken brocade. 

Beware of purples for they are born of 
magenta; that colour with which Nature loves 



Varieties in Alien Soil and Climate 205 

to goad us to exasperation. There are a few 
good ones, but, nevertheless, they have their 
faults. Manitou is good when he has reverted 
from the type (variegated with white), a splen- 
did decorative. Meyerbeer, a pendulous peony 
of great size, will sometimes turn the plum colour 
of Cervantes' Dahlia pinnata — or a deep wine 
colour, according to the amount of lime in the 
soil or the temperature of the air. 

Pink dahlias! — have you seen many really 
pink.f^ Yes, Delice, but that is all. 

Years ago there were no pinks. The nearest 
to the colour in the early days was Nymphea or 
Sylvia, "two names with but a single flower." 
They are the dear little blushing round blossoms 
seen in every dooryard for four generations, and 
even now are the most popular with the florist. 
After Juarezii arrived, the cupped petals were 
turned back and Kremhilda came into being, a 
cheery little cactus with white centre, identical 
in habit and colour. When Hornsvelt brought 
out the peony dahlia Gloire de Baarn, it seemed 
a real achievement. Not much later came 
Delice ; she has stood alone ever since, and Gloire 
de Baarn is relegated to the scrap heap. Of 
course, there are now gorgeous salmon pinks, 
shrimp pinks, cerise pinks through every shade 
and combination of shades, but Delice stands 



206 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

yet alone as a pure pink pink, although challenged 
many times. 

Hortulanus Fiet, a veteran now, is one of the 
finest of soft pinks. Here, however, is a dahlia 
whose blending of tints is greatly influenced by 
its surroundings. A decorative of good size, fine 
substance, and habit, free flowering almost to a 
fault; the colour when grown in good soil in the 
open garden should be a warm, creamy pink. I 
have seen it grown in two neighbouring gardens 
near by, of tubers separated from the same 
clump; yet the blooms were so different in 
appearance that one could hardly believe they 
were related. One was the type — correct in 
every way ; the other, grown in ground which had 
been heavily limed and soot added to the 
fertilizer; where trees kept it shaded most of the 
day. The colour was dark — almost brown, 
shading to orange yellow in the centre; the petals 
were loose and the stem weak. I have seen it 
grown in poor soil, neglected in cultivation, yet 
blooming freely, a poor pinkish white. 

Crystal; delicate pink cactus, large, free in 
bloom for some, shy for others; keeps its white 
fingers better than most variegated dahlias. 
Inclined to be pendent, perhaps, yet with such 
grace and refinement that I feel none should be 
without it. 



Varieties in Alien Soil and Climate 207 

Andrew Carnegie, some fifteen years old, a 
creamy pink peony, has for a long time been 
especially desirable, not alone for its exquisite 
colour and unusual centre set like a jewel, but for 
the fern-like foliage which makes it a thing of 
beauty in the garden and unsurpassed as a cut 
flower. Of late I have found it inclined to be- 
come poor in colour soon after it commences to 
bloom and that the addition of a little lime- 
water when the buds begin to show has improved 
it very much. It is undoubtedly one of the best 
seed parents I have used where pale colours were 
sought for; and, probably a descendant of Dahlia 
Gracilis, endows as much as 50 per cent, of its 
children with its beautiful foliage. 

My own Gertrude Dahl was one of these, 
though with heavier foliage, no more beautiful in 
its way, perhaps, than its parent; though a hun- 
dred times freer in flowering and with an 
iridescence in colour obtained from the pollen 
parent used. 

Whether Wolfgang v. Goethe and F. W. 
Fellows may be called pink or red, they are 
certainly salmon, and rank among the very best. 
The former is one of the oldest, following closely 
upon the heels of the Countess of Lonsdale. 
Tall, upright in habit, unfailing in colour and 
generous in bloom, it is as beautiful to-day as it 



208 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

was twenty years ago. Stredwick has enlarged 
it and named his new one F. W. Fellows. Just 
as fine in form and colour, twice the size, it 
bears fewer blossoms, but all growers are unani- 
mous in its praise. 

A rose pink, sometimes light, sometimes dark, 
according to the weather and the food, is George 
Walters. Always softened with a golden sheen 
at the base of the petals, always large and loose, 
always beautiful, yet no one can agree to what 
class it belongs. The American Dahlia Society 
has definitely placed it as a hybrid cactus — 
probably because it fits the other classes less. 
Indeed, the hybrid cactus class seems to absorb 
all types that fit into no other. 

Some years ago a dahlia appeared from La 
Conner, Washington, for which it was named, of 
so unusual a form that it was called " Carnation 
flowered" — which described it exactly. An up- 
right blossom of long fluffy petals on a wiry stem; 
a soft rose iridescent with blue and gold, the 
flower stands out in my memory above all 
others of those days. There was no class to fit 
it, and no dahlia society to regulate it. It was 
so frail, however, that the blossom seldom lasted 
more than a day after cutting, and so delicate 
were the tubers that it took a genius to winter it 
over. I doubt now if the variety exists. 



Varieties in Alien Soil and Climate 209 

J. Harrison Dick is much the same form except 
that the back petals hang down in a shower, but 
hybrid cactus it is dubbed for all that. 

The upright stems are coming — one or two a 
year, now. Ballon was the first, a solid, stodgy 
decorative not more than two feet high. The 
blossoms of dull brown looked up at one begging 
to be pulled off and used as pincushions. Lately 
Insulinde has taken the world by storm. The 
flowers, though large and fairly double, remind 
me of that exquisite little iris cuprea in form, 
colour, and habit — copper, orange-gold, or golden 
orange, call it what you will, you cannot describe 
it, and you will always wonder at it. 

Among the odd forms of dahlias are two types 
which stand out beyond the others. In 1914 the 
"Star" dahlias made a hit at the English shows, 
but have only just appeared among us here. 
Crawley Star is the best of them, a dainty cup- 
shaped single, evidently containing a drop or 
two of "cactus" blood, just enough to reflex the 
petals a bit. A rosy pink, better than most, 
of upright habit, rather small, airy, and dainty, 
it is one of the best for house decorations. It is 
not of great value in the garden as it gives but 
little colour effect. 

The anemone-flowered types have lately come 
from France. Of all, Meissonier is the best on 



210 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

account of its exquisite salmon colour and its 
fern-like foliage. The ray florets show a row of 
single petals while each inner floret is enclosed 
in a slender tube. The flowers are small and 
dainty, but none too many on a plant. Another 
variation of the type has white petals, and the 
group of unusually long tubes of bright yellow give 
the effect of a giant bi-colour daffodil. Already 
it is called "Narcissus flowering" and justly so. 

In France they must have an especially long 
and slender insect to pollinate these dahlias, for 
here they never seem to set seed alone, and no 
instrument of mine, at least, has ever yet suc- 
ceeded in reaching the pistil; and if I dare cut 
back the tube the flower sulks and says, "I 
won't." 

There is a great future in this new "break" in 
form. We are only on the threshold, but I be- 
lieve the day is coming when this class will rank 
in importance with all the best. 

Of the fragrant dahlias, there is none which 
will make a bouquet really sweet. A few of faint 
odour there are when blooming during cool 
weather; but here again the future lies wide open. 
When they are sweet, the fragrance is that of a 
pond-lily. 

There are many new varieties of dahlias bred 
on the other side of the Atlantic which are un- 



Varieties in Alien Soil and Climate 211 

known to us here. The Federal Horticultural 
Board, in its effort to prevent the further in- 
troduction of dangerous plant pests, does not 
permit commercial importations on a large scale 
intended for immediate resale. To protect the 
horticultural interests of the country, they have 
insured that no desirable new variety or kind of 
plant should be excluded; nor should any 
scientific worker, botanical garden or amateur 
collector be prevented from securing plants for 
study, hybridization, or other scientific purposes. 
It is made easy for nurserymen to procure prop- 
agating stock from abroad of varieties which are 
unobtainable in this country; thus, in a year or 
two, new varieties of dahlias may be sufficiently 
increased to supply the market. 

The Federal Horticultural Board is desirous to 
assist the amateur plant collector in securing new 
varieties, and it is a simple matter to apply for a 
permit to import direct whatever cannot be had 
over here. In that way we may secure at once 
what otherwise we must wait a year or more to 
get. 

There has been much sensational criticism 
over the rulings of the F. H. B., and while there 
are still many flaws to be found, the law is a good 
one, as every reasonable person will admit. 

Few people realize that no living plants from 



212 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

America have for many years been permitted to en- 
ter France, Germany, or Holland,"^ while similar 
or modified restrictions have been long enforced 
by other European countries. We therefore 
should not complain. 

France, Germany, and Holland, therefore, 
have no means of securing our fine new dahlias 
unless done indirectly by means of roots or plants 
grown in England or some other country which 
has no embargo. 

It is to be deplored that many of our finest va- 
rieties are still unknown in England. The war 
has been largely to blame, and previous to that 
time the growers had not realized what we have 
come to learn — that tubers planted in alien soil, 
enduring a strange climate, must be given time to 
become acclimatized. Many were disappointed 
the first year, and had not the patience to continue. 

I have heard many an amateur complain of 
new European varieties, and have always begged 
them to try another year — usually learning 
afterward that they had much improved. The 
same thing often happens with western roots 
in the east and eastern roots in the west; though 
in many types and colours the soil will make a 
permanent difference. 

•This statement is made by Mr. Marlatt in the National Geographic Magazine, August, 
1921. 



CHAPTER XV 

CLASSIFICATION AND CHART 

THE American Dahlia Society has adopted 
the following nine classes into which the 
forms of dahlias may be divided. The defi- 
nitions are as clear as possible, and the sub- 
divisions place the hybrids. It has been a 
difficult problem to solve, and yearly becomes 
more so, for new varieties are constantly appear- 
ing which either blend the forms of two classes 
or are so totally different that it is almost im- 
possible to classify them. 

Class I. 

CACTUS DAHLIAS 

(a) True, fluted type: Corollas long, narrow, incurved 
or twisted, with sharp or fluted points and with the mar- 
gins revolute (rolled backward or outward), forming in the 
outer florets a more or less perfect tube for more than half 
the length of the corolla. 

Typical examples: Pierrot; Mrs. Douglas Fleming; 

J. H. Jackson; Valiant. 

(b) Hybrid cactus or semi-cactus type: Corollas short 
as compared with previous type, broad, flat, recurved or 

213 



214 The Amateur^s Booh of the Dahlia 

twisted, margins only slightly revolute and tubes of outer 
florets, if any, less than half the length of the corolla. This 
type intergrades with the decorative and peony-flowered 
classes. 

Typical examples; Kalif; Futurity; Gladys Sherwood; 

Wodan. 

Class II. 

DECORATIVE DAHLIAS 

Double flowers, full to the centre, early in the season at 
least, flat rather than ball-shaped, with broad, flat, some- 
what loosely arranged floral rays with broad points or 
rounded tips which are straight or decurved (turned down 
or back) not incurved, and with margins revolute, if rolled 
at all. 

Typical examples: Delice; King of the Autumn; Hor- 

tulanus Fiet. 

Class III. 

BALL-SHAPED DOUBLE DAHLIAS 

(a) Show type: Flowers globular rather than broad or 
flat, showing regular spiral arrangement of florets, with 
corollas more or less quilled or with their margins involute 
(rolled forward or inward). (Dahlias of this type with 
flowers spotted, variegated, or parti-coloured were formerly 
classed as fancy, a group no longer recognized.) 

Typical examples: A. D. Livoni; King of Shows; Gold 

Medal; David Warfield. 

(b) Hybrid show, giant show, or colossal show, type: 
Flowers broadly hemispheric to flatly globular, loosely 
built, so spiral arrangement of florets is not immediately 



Classification and Chart 215 

evident; corollas broad, heavy, cupped, or quilled, with 
rounded tips and more or less involute margins. Verging 
toward the decorative class and sometimes found classed 
with the decoratives. 

Typical examples: Mrs. Roosevelt; La Colosse; Grand 

Duke Alexis; Cuban Giant. 

Class IV. 

PEONY-FLOWERED DAHLIAS 

Semi-double flowers with open centre, the inner floral rays 
being usually curled or twisted, the other or outer petals 
being either flat or more or less irregular. 
Typical examples: Andrew Carnegie; Meyerbeer; Ger- 
trude Dahl; Queen Wilhelmina. 

Class V. 

DUPLEX DAHLIAS 

Semi-double flowers, with centre always exposed on open- 
ing of bud; with petals in more than one row, more than 12, 
long and flat, or broad and rounded; not noticeably twisted 
or curled. (Many so-called peony-flowered Dahlias be- 
long here.) 

Typical examples: Merry Widow; Sensation; Golden 

Sunshine, Mme. J. Coissard. 

Class VI. 

SINGLE DAHLIAS 

Open-centred flowers, small to very large, with eight to 
twelve floral rays more or less in one circle, margins often 
decurved (turned down or back). (The type embraces 



216 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 

the large Twentieth Century, as well as small varieties, 
also Star Singles without subdivision). 
Typical examples: White Century; Newport Marvel; 

Danish Cross; Leslie Seale. 

Class VII. 

COLLARETTE DAHLIAS 

Single type: Open-centred blossoms with not more than 
nine floral rays with one or more smaller rays, usually of a 
different colour, from heart of each ray floret, making a 
collar about disk. 
Typical examples: Mme. E. Poirier; Diadem. 

Class VIII. 

ANEMONE-FLOWERED DAHLIAS 

Flowers with one row of large floral rays like single dahlias 
but with each disk flower producing small, tubular petals. 
Typical examples: Mons. Chas. Molin; La Styx; Meis- 

sonier; Graziella, 

Class IX. 

OTHER SECTIONS 

Miniature or Pompon Cactus: Small-flowered, stellate 
fine-petalled cactus dahlias represented by Tom- tit; 
Mary; Nora; Minima. Mignon or Tom Thumb: Dwarf, 
bushy, single-flowered dahlias for edging. 
Typical example : Jules Closson. 

Bedding Dahlia: A taller, more upright type than the 
Tom Thumb. 

Typical examples: Barlow's Bedder and Midget Im- 
proved. 



Classification and Chart 217 

Cockade or zonal dahlias: Single or collarette dahlias, with 
three distinct bands of colour about centre. Type hardly- 
known in America, but includes such forms as that of 
Cocarde Espagnole. 

The accompanying chart of named varieties 
does not pretend to be a selected list of the finest 
chosen from the five thousand or more now 
listed in the records of the American Dahlia 
Society. It is a list compiled of those I person- 
ally know and have grown, together with those 
recommended to me by about twenty -five men 
and women, all experts, both amateur and pro- 
fessional, and which I have seen in their gar- 
dens. 

Among the newer sorts are those whose names 
appear in no less than three catalogues of 1921 
issued in this country, and which are highly 
spoken of by more than one person. 

The old favourites are there also; some the 
survivors of 1840. 

New varieties appear every year, and this list 
will soon be out of date unless the reader adds to 
it, in the spaces provided, those which he has seen 
at the shows. Others, not so new, which the 
reader may particularly admire, may have been 
left out. These also I hope he will add. 

The choice of dahlias is largely a matter of 
taste, and both climate and quality of soil alter 



218 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 

colour and habit to a large degree. Space has 
therefore been provided for the reader's personal 
opinion regarding varieties which he has grown. 

I hope that the chart will help the enthusiastic 
but distracted amateur to choose his varieties 
after the deluge of catalogues descends. Glow- 
ing descriptions and beautiful illustrations make 
the choice most difficult. Often a dahlia, in- 
tended to brighten the border, will be found use- 
less for anything but the exhibition table; and 
those on whom high hopes for the show had been 
pinned prove to be no more than the "common 
or garden variety." 

Among those classed as exhibition blooms are 
many which are shy bloomers, and are therefore 
left out of the garden class. Those listed as cut 
flowers are dahlias which may be handled with- 
out too much risk of wilting, and which are 
particularly useful for house decorations. Many, 
like George Walters, King of the Autumn, 
Gertrude Dahl, etc., although producing the 
finest exhibition blooms, are so free-flowering 
they may rank among the best of the garden 
types. Some, again, make excellent cut flowers 
for house decorations or for shipping as well as 
garden and exhibition blooms. These are listed 
under all three heads. 

Under the column marked "Habit" I have 



Classification and Chart 219 

made note of anything unusual; whether the 
plant is tall or short or bushy, and whether the 
blooms are pendent or upright. 

Any plants without notes in this column are of 
moderate height, with flowers of usual stem and 
habit. 

Although I always use Ridge way's Colour 
Chart whenever listing colours for my own use, 
and I strongly recommend it above all others for 
amateurs, it is impossible to use in this list, for 
the reason that colours in dahlias vary so much 
with soil, climate, and even the different sea- 
sons. 



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INDEX 



INDEX 



Acocotli, Aztec name for origi- 
nal duplex dahlia, 2. 

Amateur, definition of, 176. 

Amateur and professional, com- 
petition between, 161, 176, 
177. 

American Dahlia Society, found- 
ing of the original and the 
present societies, 9; benefits 
of aflSliation with, 164. 

Anemone-flowered types im- 
possible to pollinate, 73. 

Ants, red, control of, 139. 

Aphis, control of, 134. 

Arsenate of lead, as insecti- 
cide, 133, 134; for striped 
cucumber beetle, 141. 

Ashes, coal, of doubtful bene- 
fit, 33. 

Ashes, wood, for improving 
soil, 29. 

Bichloride of mercury solution, 
for root diseases, 142, 144. 

Black Leaf 40, effective in- 
secticide, 136. 

Blind tubers, 42; ideal for 
grafting, 56. 

Blossoms, care after cutting, 
151. 

Bone, ground, for improving 
soil, 29. 

Bonemeal, in preparing trenches, 
38; proper grade to use, 39; 
as plant food, 94. 

Bordeaux mixture, to control 
the white fly, 138. 

Borers, to control, 133. 



Breeding of new varieties, 61. 
Buffalo Tree-hopper, control 
of, 139. 

California leads in new vari- 
eties, 76. 

Cactus dahlia, discovery, 8. 

Carbon bi-sulphide, for garden 
pests, 132. 

Cavanilles, Abbe, grower of 
first dahlias in Europe, 3, 6, 
11. 

Chart of recommended named 
varieties, 221. 

Chemical fertilizers not to be 
recommended, 96. 

Classification adopted by the 
American Dahlia Society, 213. 

Climate and soil induce varia- 
tion, 12, 195. 

Clumps, mistake of planting, 41. 

Coal ashes, of doubtful bene- 
fit, 33. 

Cocoxochitl, Aztec name for 
original peony-flowered dahlia, 
2. 

Colour Chart, Ridgeway's, rec- 
ommended for use of ama- 
teurs, 219. 

Colour combinations in garden 
and as house decorations, 179. 

Competition between amateur 
and professionals, 161, 176, 
177. 

Compost pit, necessity of, 31. 

Cork, ground, for storing bulbs, 
119. 



311 



312 



Index 



"Countess of Lonsdale'* origi- 
nal of, 19. 

Cross pollination, natural means 
of producing new varieties, 
23. 

Cucumber beetle, striped, con- 
trol of, 141. 

Cultivating, method of, 97. 

Cutworms, to control, 130. 

Cutting the blooms, 149. 

Cuttings, rooting of, 47. 

Dahl, Andreas, for whom 
dahlia is named, 3. 

Dahlia, history, 1 

Dahlia hidentifolia, mentioned 
by Cavanilles, 12; early trea- 
tise on, 17. 

Dahlia coccinea, mentioned by 
Cavanilles, 12; habitat in 
Mexico, 22. 

Dahlia Maxoni, a tree dahlia, 
64. 

Dahlia pinnata, early descrip- 
tion of, in France, 13; in 
England, 16. 

Dahlia rosea, mentioned by 
Cavanilles, 12. 

Damping off, of young plants, 
142. 

Decorative dahlia, first de- 
scribed, 7. 

Digging the clumps, 115. 

Disbranching, when necessary, 
110. 

Disbudding, necessity of, 101. 

Donckelaar, early grower of 
dahlias, 6. 

Drought, effect of, 82. 

Early blooming undesirable, 
101. 

England, unfamiliar with our 
best varieties, 212. 

Exhibiting at shows, prepar- 
ing for, 156. 

Federal Horticultural Board, 
co5peration of, 211. 



Fertilizer, not to be used at 
planting time, 93; for quick 
action, 110. 

Flies, white, control of, 136. 

Foreground planting, to pre- 
vent bareness, 179. 

Formaldehyde, for scab, 142. 

Fragrance, possibilities for ob- 
taining, 64. 

Frost, protection against, 114. 

Garden soil, making of com- 
post for, 32. 

Grafting cuttings upon tubers, 
56. 

Grasshoppers, control of, 141. 

Green plants, care of, 53. 

Growing conditions necessary, 
23. 

Haage, early grower of dahlias, 
6. 

Hartweg, early grower of 
dahlias, 6, 7. 

Hernandez, Francisco, first de- 
scribes the dahlia, 2. 

Hole, Dean, advice as to care 
in planting, 35. 

Hot weather, care of plants 
in, 81. 

Imported varieties, not adapt- 
ed to our climate and soil, 
195. 

Inbreeding, desirability of, 62. 

Incurved cactus, weak stem, 
197; English improvements 
in, 198. 

Insect pests, to control, 134. 

Irrigation, feasibility of, 98. 

Johnson, Louisa, gives points 
of perfection in 1855, 18. 

Kerosene, for destroying bugs, 
140. 

Labelling, importance of, 69, 
76. 



Index 



313 



Leaf-hopper, control of, 137. 
Leaves, saved for compost, 31. 
Lelieur, early grower of dahlias, 

6. 
Lice, plant, control of, 134. 
Lime, not necessary, 34. 
Litmus paper to test soils for 

sourness, 27. 
Loam, components of, 27. 
Location for dahlia planting, 

24. 

Mexico, original habitat of the 
dahlia, 2, 8, 20. 

Mildew, control of, 141. 

Mineral soils, described, 26. 

Mixed border planting, 183. 

Moles, to destroy, 126. 

Mosaic disease, caused by 
white fly, 138; treatment for, 
142. 

Mulching, benefits and dan- 
gers, 93. 

National Dahlia Society, formed, 

7. 
Nitrate of soda, of doubtful 

benefit, 9Q. 
Nicotine-sulphate, for aphids, 

136. 

Over-propagation, evils of, 53. 

Pacific Coast, planting condi- 
tions, 80. 

Packing and shipping of 
blooms, 153. 

Packing for shipment, tubers, 
46; green plants, 65. 

Peaty soils, described, 26. 

Peony dahlia, origination, 11. 

Pests and remedies, 124. 

Phosphates, added to soil, 28, 
29. 

Phosphoric acid, for dahlia 
soil, 29. 

Pinching back, not a substitute 
for staking, 91; varieties im- 
proved by, 92. 



Plant lice, control of, 134. 
Planting, care necessary in, 35; 

preparing tubers for, 44; 

proper time for, 80. 
Planting scheme, preparation 

of, 85. 
Planting the tubers, 87. 
Points of perfection, as desired 

in 1855, 18. 
Poisoned grain, for moles, 127. 
Pollenizing, artificial, 68. 
Pollination by natural means 

preferable, 68. 
Pompon dahlia, originated, 7. 
Pot-grown plants, treatment 

of. 111. 
Pot roots, propagation by, 67; 

storing for winter, 122. 
Potash, important in soil, 29. 
Poultry manure, as stimulant 

for blooms, 94. 
Preparation of soil, 26. 
Professional and amateur, com- 
petition between, 161, 176, 

177. 
Propagation, methods of, 40. 

Rabbits, a pest, 126. 
Root cuttings, propagation by, 
65. 

Salisbury, R. A., early treatise 

on Dahlia bidentifolia, 17. 
Sand, percentage of, in soils, 

27; for storing bulbs, 120, 

121. 
Sawdust, for storing bulbs, 119. 
Scab, treating for, 142. 
Seed, growing plants from, 62. 
Seed pods, care of, 75. 
Seeds, planting of the, 77. 
Seedlings, growing of, 77. 
Separation of tubers from 

clumps, 42. 
Shade frame for coldframes, 

78. 
Sheep manure as stimulant for 

blooms, 94. 
Shipment, packing for, 46. 



314 



Index 



Shipping the blooms, methods 
for, 153. 

Shows, preparing for, 156; 
best time for, 158; hall 
should be well located, 159; 
arranging exhibits, 159; ar- 
rangement of classes for 
competition, 161. cooperation 
of American Dahlia Society, 
164; arrangement of prize 
money, ribbons, and trophies, 
164; conducting a show, 166; 
points for judging, 170; in- 
formation for the new ex- 
hibitor, 173. 

Sims, Dr. John, early drawing 
of Dahlia pinnata, 16. 

Slugs, to control, 130. 

Snails, as a pest, 129. 

Soil — Composition and prepa- 
ration, 26. 

Soil and climate induce varia- 
tion, 12, 195. 

Soils, to test for sourness, 27. 

Soot, for brilliancy of colour, 96. 

Spiders, control of, 139. 

Sprouting while in storage, 
treatment, 84. 

Stakes, preparing the, 85. 

Staking, methods of, 85, 90; 
necessary for long-stemmed 
flowers, 92. 

Stem-borer, to control, 133. 

Sterility in certain varieties, 67. 

"Stink bug," control of, 140. 



Storing, winter, 84, 117. 
Sulphur, powdered, for "damp- 
ing off" or mildew, 142. 

Table decorations, pompons, 
invaluable for, 190. 

Thuin, A., early treatise on the 
dahlia, 13. 

Time for planting, 80. 

Tobacco solution, as insecti- 
cide, 137. 

Traps for moles, 128. 

Tree dahlias, native of Yuca- 
tan, 63. 

Trenching, proper method, 36. 

Tubers, preparing for plant- 
ing, 44. 

Unreliability in breeding, 65. 

Van der Berg, M. J. T., pro- 
ducer of cactus dahlias, 8. 

Vandes, Comte de, early grower 
of dahlias, 6. 

Variation produced by differ- 
ent climate and soil, 12, 195. 

Vases and jars, for decoration, 
193. 

Watering in hot weather, 97, 

98. 
White flies, control of, 136. 
Wood ashes, for improving soil, 

29. 



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